Slice of Heaven
by Ysavvryl
Summary: It is said that when good people die, they go to Heaven.  But what happens to good animals after they die?  And what happens if a human ends up at the wrong afterlife crossing?
1. Whistle of the Old Train

_I wanna try a little something... tell me what you think!_

**Chapter 1: Whistle of the Old Train**

There was a funeral in a grassy field. A white cloth hung by some poles over the open grave, in case of rain. Around that shelter, the mourners in black clothes were all talking softly, some crying and some silent. Flower arrangements ruffled in the wind, a mix of roses, tulips, cosmos, and pansies, all in white. It had been a lovely funeral and many people expressed their love and sadness. Somewhere in the distance, a train blew its lonely whistle.

There was just one thing wrong with the scene. One thing that bothered me greatly. It was my funeral that I was watching.

You don't expect to be there watching your own burial, but here I was, looking down at my coffin. I was there, dressed in a nice lacy white blouse that I liked, my hair neat and clean. But there was no life in that body. And when I looked over myself, the part of me that was aware, I was faint, with an odd white glow. I didn't know what to make of it.

In the coffin beside me was a second smaller coffin. That, I thought dismally, was the remains of my dear pet cat, who had died in the same manner as me. What was it? I can't be sure. My mind's a muddle and I haven't been able to hear it from my friends and family here.

And beside me looking at the coffins was my pet cat's spirit. Monique was clinging to me, afraid and confused. I was afraid and confused as well, but I held her and tried to comfort us. She was a dear friend of mine, even though she was just a cat. Are we spirits? I can still feel her fur, warm and soft.

"She was a nice little cog in the system," one of my co-workers said, having separated a bit from the group. My hearing is odd now, and I don't always hear who I'm focused on. I turn to look at him.

"That she was," another coworker said. "Always got the job done on time, if not early, never complained, always had a smile and a cheery greeting. I think the boss will learn how important she was in keeping things running smooth soon."

"We'll just have to pick up the pace, then?" He shook his head. "Although, she was too eager to please in that. I had a feeling I never really knew who she was, or that she even knew that."

As the other guy smiled, I wondered about that. People didn't really know me, aside from as a nice 'cog in the system'? And maybe I didn't know myself? I was dedicated to my job a bit much. Maybe. I loved my work… even though I can't quite remember what I did. But I had loved it and came to work nearly every day. Then again, sometimes I felt like I never got a chance to enjoy the fruits of my labor.

But, that wasn't something to complain about. Be hard working and you will be rewarded someday. But now I was dead and… what was going to happen to me? Spatters of rain started to fall, encouraging the mourners to leave.

Monique pawed my face. I gripped her in the way she liked, my arm under her back feet, her front paws on my shoulder, then got up and started following people out of the graveyard. But something happened as we walked down the path. The air grew hazier and hazier. It got to the point where the folks right in front of me were nothing but blurs of black. Then even that vanished.

"We were good people," I told Monique softly. "We'll be okay."

Then the haze vanished. However, we were not on the graveyard walkway. We were in front of a polished gray stone. It had my name, my birthday, my death day, Monique's name and species, her dates, and a script saying, 'Friendship crosses all boundaries, even death. Love thy neighbor.' Our gravestone, carved with a human angel and a kitty angel.

I set Monique down. Cats were known to have sixth senses, especially about spooky things. Would that apply here? "Monique, what's going on? Can you find the way out?"

"Mew?" She waved her tail, then sniffed the gravestone. Her fur bristled out and she backed up in fear. Looking around, she didn't seem to spot anything of safety aside from me. So she ran back to me.

I got down on the ground and sat by her, ignoring the gentle rain. "What happened? I know we died, but… are we just lost souls now? Are we going to be here forever?" I shuddered. "I wouldn't have thought this would be the afterlife."

The cat nuzzled against me, then crept into my lap. She was just an animal, but did she understand death? Sometimes, I think they're intelligent enough to know that. Maybe once she's calmed down and is reassured that I would be here, she might be able to find our way.

To help her, I hummed a bit of nonsense. It helped me some, but it also made me notice how silent it had gotten. There were no sounds of birds or bugs around us, just eerie silence of that strange haze. As I looked around, I wondered if it was going back and forth, like the tides of the ocean. Maybe I should pray.

"Love thy neighbor," a strange voice said, causing us both to tense. "That is what they put on your tombstone? The two of you must be such good little souls." Then the voice laughed at its own biting sarcasm.

Even though the both of us were spirits, I could feel Monique's claws dig into my skin. Maybe it was just the memory of her tiny but sharp claws. Afraid but wanting to know who was taunting us, I looked up and saw a strange being. Was he human? No and yes. His skin was a pale pastel green, but his upper body was formed like that of a muscular man wearing no clothes. He had metallic blond hair that went to his waist, staying in one neat but flexible solid. His ears were long, pointed and curled forward at the tips, then pierced with black hoop earrings. His lower half reminded me of a mantis, long and round with six long thin legs and folded up high. And on his fingers were claws. Not dainty little claws like Monique's, but long steel claws, curved and sharp.

The mantis man scuttled around to face us. "So you were a nice little pet, a nice little cog in the system? I don't like complacency. But then again…" he put a hand to his face, somehow not mauling himself in the process, and looked thoughtful.

"Who are you?" I asked, trying to get a defensive hold on my cat. "And what do you want with us?"

"I am Loki," he said, then erupted in laughter. "Do I not look like my normal mythological self? I don't stick to stories, m'am. I stick to chaos; I am chaos. Not good, but then, not evil either. And you… oh-ho-ho, you could insert quite a bit of chaos if a little mistake gets made… hah, why should I think about it?" He snapped his claws, making a sharp metallic shriek that hurt Monique's ears. "There, it's done!"

"Fffft!" Monique then leapt out of my lap, hissing. She bristled her fur up again, partly out of fear, but partly to look larger and more intimidating. Somehow, she recognized his threat and she wasn't going to let him get away with it.

"Sorry little feline," Loki said without meaning it. "Don't mess with powers far beyond you. Don't believe me? Hah!"

Loki then jumped over us, landing right behind me. I tried to get away from him, but he grabbed hold of my white gown (where had that come from?) and jerked me up. Making a strange gold object appear, he clamped it onto my neck. A choker necklace then materialized, latching onto me and not letting go. Then he roughly dropped me; Monique had to scramble to get away from me.

"There, the deed is done," he said, sounding proud of himself. "You will enter a realm humans were not meant to be in, thus introducing chaos into that realm. I have tried so long to break into that place. Now, you are my key." He grinned, showing off shining white teeth. "As for what will happen… we shall see. This shall be most entertaining."

Then Loki dashed away and was gone.

Monique still looked unsettled, but she started stalking around, to see if he would return. I go myself back up and tugged at the choker. It felt like firm elastic, a wide band of material that went all the way around my neck. Although firmly in place, it wasn't so tight that it affected my breathing, or nervous swallowing. There seemed to be no latch to it. However, there was something at the front center. It was formed… I'm not sure. A tree? It has a rounded front and a flat back, starting with a 'trunk' that goes up to a rough textured 'canopy'. I definitely couldn't pull it off or find some hidden connection to it, nor could I really see it.

On the other hand, I could see the strange white dress that was on me. I had no shoes or socks, just this old-fashioned white dress that went down close to my ankles. It wasn't like a wedding dress, though. There was no decoration and the texture of it was like cheap linen. Running my hand over it, I found myself thinking it was made from a burial shroud. While mourners wore black, the deceased wore white…

The cat soon came back to my side, turning her attention to smoothing down her fur. Even though she was just a spirit, she was still fastidious. I gave her a gentle pet, helping to smooth down her coat. "I don't want to cause chaos," I said softly. "Never rock the boat; never disturb the peace. That's how you get along with people. Just keep quiet and do your work. That's always how I lived. But, a cog in the system? Never knew myself?" I shook my head. "You can't be selfish. That's wrong."

But then why was I so uncertain about it? Had the words of my coworkers been right? I wasn't sure. My mind was muddled. But I had always been good, so why was I left here in the rain and haze with just Monique for company? Sure, I'm glad she's here. But what was going on?

Then there was a hiss from Monique. Something had riled her up again. However, her warning came too late. I was grabbed by… something, it seemed like some drooling mad hag dressed in a ragged cloak. She… it? It tried to chomp on my shoulder, but I managed to knock its aim off by jerking my arm at it and screaming. Grabbing hold of its spindly arms, I managed to yank it off me and push it away. Monique was fighting her own thing, something like a weasel with a scythe for a tail. But then other creatures joined in, ready to tear us apart. Although I tried my hardest, I had never really fought before and they soon overwhelmed me.

Then there was a spirited yell that caused all the creatures to pause. What came next was also peculiar. A cat that was shaped like a human rushed out from the haze, accompanied by a train's whistle. The cat-man stood up to my shoulders in height, was covered in short dark blue fur, and had pointed ears and long whiskers just like Monique. However, the cat-man was also wearing a red and brown sweater vest over a white shirt, dark brown pants with a black belt, and brown suede shoes. Using a scythe that would have fit the Grim Reaper, the blue cat-man slashed through the weasel monster, vanquishing it into white dust.

The cloaked hag tried to attack him, but met a similar swift end. Seeing that, the other strange monsters fled. I collapsed to the ground, feeling dizzy and nauseous. But if I was a spirit, how could I feel nausea?

"That was a close shave, you two," the blue cat-man said. "But don't worry, dear souls, you're safe in my paws. Now let's see." He came over, flipping his scythe around. He then tapped Monique with the handle. "Another feline, mya. You're been a loyal pet with a big heart, and now you shall receive a fine reward."

"Huh?" a dainty female voice said. It seemed like it came from Monique. But she was just a cat; she couldn't talk.

"I'll explain in good time. Don't worry, I'm not a psycho. I'm a servant of death, a reaper if you will." Then he chuckled. "But I don't like being called a Grim Reaper, no! I'm more of a dandy reaper, you see?" He laughed at his joke, then came over to me. "And you now…" he tapped me with the handle of his scythe.

At that, I felt my sickness even sharper. I gasped, trying not to cry out. It was like having a serious case of the flu. What was wrong with me?

The blue cat-man's eyes went wide. "Wha-what? A human? Bu-but, what's going on?"

"What happened to her?" the female voice said, as Monique came over. "There was a strange thing around before the monsters came."

He put a paw to his forehead. "Man, I'm not supposed to deal with humans! Aw, what do I do…?"

The train whistled again.

Sighing, he took my hand. "As it is, it's too dangerous to leave you out here, especially alone. Come with me, both of you. You'll be safe aboard the Animal Crossing Train. As I said, I am a reaper, the reaper of loving animals. But you can just call me Rover."

At that point, everything turned white. Had the burial shroud been pulled over my eyes?

* * *

When I next came alert, I still felt weak. Not nauseous, which was an improvement. I was lying down on a plush bench with a slightly rough texture and a firm back. In the background were steady click-clack-click-clack sounds, while the bench swayed slightly. An old-fashioned train? That's what it seemed like. There were continual spatters overhead, like heavy rains against a wooden roof. A rumble of thunder cut in.

Around me, I heard quite a cit of chatter: "Is it really a human?" "What's she doing here?" "Is there going to be trouble?" and "I'm not comfortable with this."

"Be more considerate, pffffft," the female voice from before said. "She isn't well for some reason. And she's a good human, I know."

"Erm?" I grumbled, rubbing my eyes before opening them. It seemed I was right: I was in an old-fashioned train carriage. Just past the green curtains, a thick growth of trees sped by, coated in that strange white haze. Rainwater coated the glass, blurring the scenery further.

And across from me, there was another cat person. This one was female with a rather peculiar feature. While she had short white fur over most of her body, a grown of short (but longer than the fur) wavy blond hair covered her head. She seemed quite elegant, with make-up that could have come from a Hollywood fashionista, a pretty gold necklace with a pink cat charm, and a reddish-pink dress that came down to her knees. Her white tail was curled up near her lap.

"Oh, you're finally awake," she said, then gave me a slow blink that triggered something in my memory.

"Huh… Monique?" My cat? She was now a cat person?

She purred. "Yes, it's me, pffffft. And I can speak like you now! I'm not entirely sure what's going on, but that Rover guy went off to go call someone."

"You mean that slacker didn't get around to telling you two what kind of place this is?" a grouchy voice said from the other side of the aisle. I couldn't quite see who it was.

"Oh, they're new souls, buh-kay, so be nice to them," a kinder male voice said. "They're probably confused and that human is still weakened from the predators' attack."

Monique lowered her ears some, looking uncomfortable. "Yeah, I don't know what happened. It's been weird since last night. We saw a funeral, but it couldn't have been us, right?"

"Told you so, buh-kay" the second male said. "I hate to be the one to break it to you, but yes, you are both dead. Everyone on this train was in the real world at some point. We were all loving animals, creatures who were good, faithful, and kind in life. Most souls, when their body dies, go back into the real world to live again, in a life dictated by how well they lived their last. But we, I guess it includes the human with you, were good enough that we're allowed to break out of that cycle and move on to something better."

"Like heaven?" Monique asked, puzzled.

"No, harrumph," the grouchy one said. "None of us are saints either."

"Right, you can tell easier with some souls," the other male retorted. "We were good enough to get out of the troubles of the real world, but we're not yet ready for the ultimate reward. So we enter a different kind of cycle, buh-kay. We live a different kind of life and are continually tested and taught so that we may eventually become deserving of the greatest reward in access to Heaven."

"But this cycle is only supposed to be for animals," the grouchy one said. "Not humans. We get to live the lives that humans do, but remain in animal form. That's why the train is called Animal Crossing, harrumph; this is the crossing path that goes between reality, the realm of the dead, and the testing realm. We're supposed to become good independent of humans."

"Well there may have been some mistake, how now," a female voice chimed in. "Besides, Rover's a good guy. He couldn't just leave an innocent soul, even a human, to be torn apart by the predatory demons."

"But…" Monique stalled, then looked at me. "Sorry, pffffft, but Rover told me not to say your name. I don't know why. This place is weird. But, are we going to be safe from those demons now?"

"Of course," the friendly male said. "They can't touch the train. And they can't touch the towns either."

"Not normally," the grouchy one said. "They can and will attack towns without warning."

"But that's why all towns have cops in them, buh-kay. They patrol the borders and drive away demons that do manage to get in. It'll be fine, Monique. This new life takes some getting used to, but once you get into it, it's a lot of fun! And so long as you are good, things will go good for you in return."

"I see. Will it be like that for her too?"

"We don't really know," he replied. "There's no humans in the towns and we never hear what happens to them after death. You do miss them, of course. I still miss my human friends."

The other guy snorted.

"But, you'll find lots of friends among the animals too! Maybe even romance."

Then a door opened just behind my bench. "Okay folks, listen up!" Rover called, causing the train car to silence. "We're going to make a detour in a short bit to deal with our human friend here. This means that we're going off the usual tracks. Things will get frightening for a bit, but don't you worry. While me, Porter, and Buddy are on board, you have nothing to fear from what may appear outside the train.

"When we get to where we're going, I'm going to let a fellow on board. He's rather spooky and grim, but he's kin to me. Treat him with respect and you'll be fine." Rover stepped by the bench to where I could see him. He noticed that I was awake, gave me a smile, then sat down beside Monique as the train blew its whistle. "Here we go, folks!"

The whole train shivered harder than its normal rhythm, causing a few startled sounds around the carriage. The window turned dark; then scattered lights zoomed by. When the train next whistled, it echoed like it was going through a tunnel. The windows lightened again, showing the thick white haze once more. But lights came through that fog. Buildings, like in a city?

The train slowed, causing Rover to get back up. "Remember, respect," he said, then went over to open up the door. "Howdy Grim. It's been a while since I've seen your skeletal self." Despite his own advice, Rover laughed.

"It has," a deep serious tone replied. I looked up into the aisle in time to see Rover come back with a tall man in a thick black cloak. It obscured much of his body. But when he stopped by me, I got a momentary sight of a bone chin and a skeletal grin.

"Here she is," Rover said. "I got notice that I was picking up two innocent souls at the location. But I only found these two, Monique and this human. I even made a secondary search, but nothing came up. And she had no trouble getting on this train. Well, no trouble besides the usual for recently lost souls."

The Grim Reaper, the one I heard of in legends, knelt down by me and put his hand on my neck. It was bone; he was all bone, as I could see from his empty eye sockets. However, I did not feel frightened in his presence. I understood on some level that he would be gentle with me, for the same reason that Rover had claimed Monique's soul.

"How did she get this?" Grim asked, holding the choker.

"Some strange creature calling himself Loki put it on her," Monique said. "He said he wanted to introduce chaos into something, pffffft. Into Animal Crossing? She's a good person, so she doesn't mean trouble."

Hearing that, Grim took his hand off me and took hold of something at his side. "Loki. Now, do not panic, any of you." He then took his scythe and gingerly placed the tip of the blade between my neck and the choker. The feeling of cold meal caused me fright, although I did my best not to shiver and get nicked by that blade. On the other side, Monique's eyes went wide and her whiskers went back. However, even the power of a Reaper's weapon was not enough to remove Loki's choker.

"Ouch, that's some serious heebee-jeebees going on," Rover commented. "Could it have really been Loki?"

"It seems so. That is the only force of chaos strong enough to do this." He pulled the weapon away from me and attached it to his side again. Then he put his hand on my forehead. "Hmm… Rover, you try." He backed up to the window.

"All right…" the cat reaper then put his paw on my forehead… and promptly freaked out. "What? She… she's an anchor."

That caused quite a few gasps and puzzled questions around the train car. However, when Grim spoke again, all chatter vanished. "So it seems Loki's method is to put a human into Animal Crossing. I'm not sure what this forebodes. However, I cannot claim her soul now. She's under your care now. I will ask around and see if we can find out what Loki means to do with this."

"Right. Well thanks for confirming this for me, Grim. Don't be a stranger, you hear?"

As they walked back to the exit, Grim replied, "We should meet up again, Rover. Even we can get too busy." Then he left for his realm. Moments later, the train whistled, heading back to Animal Crossing.

Rover came back over to our seat. He had a goofy looking grin on his face. "Huh huh huh, so it looks like you'll be sticking around us for now! This should certainly be interesting; I can't wait to see what you'll do. And, I hope you don't mind animals, because we're going to be your neighbors and friends from now on, mya!"

* * *

_Wanna play Guess the Neighbor? Hint: There's two OCs that speak in this chapter, if you don't count Grim._


	2. The Anchor's Interview

**Chapter 2: The Anchor's Interview**

"Ah, thank you Porter," Rover said, looking to the aisle. A brown monkey in an old-fashioned conductor's uniform stopped by our seats. "Sit up if you can, miss."

As I got up in my seat, my head got light. Porter pulled a teacup off his tray, then set it down in an indent on the bench's arm. On making sure it was secure, he put a tea ball inside the cup, then poured hot water over it. "It's not the most pleasant thing in the world," the monkey said with kind tones, "but it'll help you recover."

As all these animal people seem nice, or at least not hateful enough to want to poison me, I drank the tea. It was bitter in a bad way, tasting of fuzzy leaves and dry roots. I winced at the taste, but drank at it slowly until it was gone. My head was starting to feel clearer, at least.

In the meantime, the train stopped again. Rover got up to speak to a few animals who were getting off at a certain town. He stayed out of the train a little while, though. "What's he doing?" Monique asked.

"Your buddy here is an anchor, buh-kay!" the nice male in the other seat said. However, when I looked at him, I only saw a weird blurry haze. "We haven't had a new anchor in a while. This is so exciting!"

"A new anchor means a new town will be created," the female from just ahead added. "The anchors are supposed to be the souls of selfless and pure hearted animals. I guess she must qualify even though she's human, how now."

"Hah," the grouchy male said. "I bet it's just Loki looking to cause trouble, harrumph. Her town will be a wreck."

"Will you give her a chance already?" the other guy said. "Anyhow, Rover is probably sending out a message about a new anchor and a new town. Towns have got to have people running them, after all, so we need to gather all the loose workers that are around. And that makes up what we've got in AC: the villagers, the anchors, and the workers."

"And the special travelers, don't forget them," the female said. "You surely couldn't forget about Gracie, now could you?"

"Of-of course not!"

"Especially after she ripped into my last outfit," the grouchy male grumbled.

"Hey, hey there Pike," Rover said, coming back to my seat. "Careful now. I've already had to give you two warnings. I don't want to kick anybody out, but if you fail, I got no say in the matter."

"Harrumph." His blurry mass shifted, I guess because he was sulking.

"Okay, now that you're looking better, how about we start up your interview?" Rover said, turning his attention to me. "I take it some of these folks have been telling you stuff, but feel free to ask me anything."

"Um," I said, "one thing is, why nearly everyone is blurry? Even me."

"Well that's just the thing," he replied. "You're a lost soul, so you can't see the villagers clearly. I'm guessing you can see your friend Monique clearly because you knew each other in life. Souls do not have the same appearance they had in life, which is why I couldn't tell that you were human until I touched you. I need to give you your interview so we can find out what your true self looks like. It may not be the one you had in life, although you will remain what you are, a human. But anything else can change. Like, you could have green hair!" He laughed.

"That doesn't sound too good," I replied.

"Didn't you say the same thing to me?" Monique asked. "Except with fur."

"It's part of the interview," he said. "Some questions will be the same, but some will be different. And nobody is allowed to interrupt, remember? Your question wasn't too bad, Monique, since you're new, but let me talk with her now."

"Oh, okay," she replied, then put her paws in her lap.

"And there is one thing we must do that the others won't be able to overhear," Rover said, digging a card out of his bag. "Here, take this and close your eyes." I did so. "This card is reading your greatest points, and your greatest flaws. It is kept in a secret place, where only the judges can read them later on. Each soul here sill needs polishing and refinement. If you overcome your flaws, then you will be allowed to pass. After that, well, it's up to you. Okay, open your eyes and read the card if you want. Don't speak of it to anyone, even if you trust them. You may tell them you have these flaws, but do not say that they are on your card. If you chose not to read it, just hand it back to me face down."

I read the card. It had found flaws with my good points, more good than bad thankfully. But some of those bad were exactly what I had been fearing. If this was a place to get past those things, though, it was good to know what I needed to do. I handed the card back to him as instructed.

Without reading it, Rover slipped it into an envelope and sealed it up. "Right then. What's your name, by the way?"

"Nadia," I said, then blanked out. "I don't remember my last name."

"It's okay, nobody uses them around here. Nadia… sounds old-fashioned to me. But the important thing is, do you like the name Nadia?"

I nodded. "Yes, I think it's sweet and cute."

After writing down the name, he put the envelope away and grinned. "Yes indeed, a sweet name for a sweet girl. Now tell me, what do you think of our train, hmm?"

"The train?" I looked around, at the beautiful wooden paneling, the plush red benches, the red curtains (wait… hadn't they been green?) and the classy red and gold carpet. "It's cozy and romantic, like a dream of an older age. I like it very much."

"Thanks," Rover said, his ears turning forward and his tail curling in pleasure. "We have a lot of pride in our train. Say, is there anything in your life that you were really proud of?"

I considered it for a moment, but only one thing popped into mind. "Right off the top of my head… there was this sickly little maple tree in my neighbor's yard. It was only a few years old, but it wouldn't grow any taller and it had very few leaves. My neighbor was going to get rid of it, so I asked if I could take it. I took care of that tree and in a couple more years, it was one of the most beautiful trees on our block. It got to be very big and full, giving lots of cool shade."

"That sounds lovely. You weren't barking up the wrong tree then, ha ha."

I chuckled at his bad pun. It was slightly amusing, anyhow.

"Did you have many friends? It's okay if you don't remember too clearly; your past life will eventually fade. However, the connection between friends remains forever in our hearts." He smirked. "Hope I'm not getting too mushy on ya! Dealing with death every day, it happens."

"It's okay," I replied. "Um, well… I had a few very dear friends, including Monique. There were many that I called friends, but may have just been acquaintances."

"Hmm. Do you regret not developing those friendships more?"

"Yeah. I should try harder to do that now."

Rover nodded. "If you get some buddies that you're real tight with, then no matter how bleak things may seem, you always know that you'll pull through with their help. Now tell me, when was a time when you felt really happy?"

As it had with the earlier question, one memory came to mind. "There was one time when I was a child, and I was upset because my parents had moved us far away. It was so hard getting used to a new place, a new school. But then my teacher took us out on a school trip that I knew nothing about, since I just moved in. It was a long trip, but when we got there, the trip was to a dollhouse museum. I got so excited; me and the other girls talked freely and admired every display, even though I was a stranger to them. It was a mix of it all, I think, being accepted and seeing this amazing museum."

"That would be really great, after you'd been sad and all," Rover said. "So you like museums?"

"Oh, yes. They can be peaceful and exciting, informative and entertaining."

"Well good! Lots of people around like museums, so I'm sure there'll be one to visit nearby. Now, one last question. What do you think about money?"

"Um…" I felt nervous; the question touched upon one of my new uncertainties. But, maybe saying something would help me form a stance? "Well I'm not sure. It's a necessary system, to exchange goods and services fairly. But, I'm starting to think that it's not good to stockpile a lot of cash. It's not any use just sitting there, so you may as well use it for something that helps you or another."

Rover twisted his ears, a classic feline uncertainty sign. "Not too sure of that, are you? But that's okay. We've all got things to learn and many of us are forgiving of mistakes." He clapped his paws together. "Well, now I have a good idea of what you're like, Nadia. And you have some grounds to start from. So, without further ado…"

He then rubbed his paws together, then leaned over to put them both on my forehead. I felt a strange warm sensation coming from him. It wasn't just the rubbing of his paws, though. It was like a loving force, a blessing from a power beyond this blue cat in front of me, a power that was forgiving and creative. As it washed over me, I had a sense that although I was entering into a different life, a different trial, things would be okay.

Speaking in a whisper that only I could hear, the dandy reaper said, "_From good comes good. From ill comes ill. From love comes love. From spite comes spite. All things that go around, come around. Nadia the human, welcome to your new life in Animal Crossing._"

For a moment, everything flickered. Then it came back into being. I came back into being. And I felt a whole lot better than I did before.

"Pffffft!" Monique said, sounding shocked. "She looks… very different."

"You look very different too," I replied. Then I looked over myself as best I could.

The weird burial shroud dress was gone. In its place, I was wearing a bright pink dress with a large white daisy printed on the snug top. The skirt was medium length, pleated and going down to my knees, while the sleeves were short and poufy. And I had shoes now, red sneakers with white laces, and white socks underneath. On my wrist was a watch that had an unusually large screen and various buttons on the side. At my side, there was a yellow shoulder bag with large white spots on it.

But there was something even odder about it: my body shape. "What is this?" I asked, putting my hand to my now flat chest. "I have the body of a child."

"Huh, sorry about that," Rover said. "You are the first human I've ever dealt with. And from the vague memories of my old life… geez, that was so long ago now… I remember being very fond of human children."

As he spoke, I glanced at the window. The reflection wasn't very good: all I saw was a child's face with dimples and long lashes. My straight hair brushed against my shoulders. Pulling up a lock of it, I saw that it was dark chestnut brown.

"It's been a long time since I was a child," I replied. "I'll get used to it, I suppose."

"And the stuff you've got now," he gestured to my clothes and accessories, "can be changed when you get the money to do it. I can only give out certain standard items, see? But that should do you until you get all settled. Do you like it?"

I smiled at him. "It is nice, thank you."

He grinned. "Great! I think you'll get along just fine with us. Anyhow, now for the big question!" He got up and turned to the rest of the train car. "Everyone, meet our newest anchor, Nadia!" There were some cheers, along with polite clapping. "With a new anchor comes a new town, and a new town needs villagers. Can I get a group of six volunteers to move to Nadia's town?"

"I want to stay with her, pffffft," Monique stated quickly, getting up off her bench.

"Of course you do," Rover said, then laughed at himself. "Gosh, I should have thought of that, really! Okay then, five volunteers."

"I'll go, buh-kay!" the nice guy across the aisle called. Now that I could see him, I realized that he was a white rooster that was as tall as me, just a bit bigger than Monique and Rover. He wore something that made me think of a tourist's shirt, a dark blue one with giant red flowers splashed across it. However, he didn't wear pants or shoes.

"Okay, so Goose goes, mya. Who else?"

"Oh, we'll go!" the female just in front of us called, coming out into the aisle. "Right, how now?" She was a tall creature, a brown cow who wore an orange shirt with a long skirt that reminded me of the wedges of an orange. She turned to her friend.

"Um, okay, it sounds fun sugarbill," a timid female voice answered. A small olive brown duck tiptoed out, clutching her wings together nervously. Her cheeks had pink blush, even beyond her shyness. She wore a colorful patterned shirt with black shorts. Still no shoes, though.

Bowing to the timid one kindly, Rover said, "Okay then, Patty and Deena will move."

"I'll go, harrumph," the grouchy guy with Goose said. "I want to keep an eye on this human." Now that I could see him, he seemed to be a pale blue-green ferret with bushy eyebrows. He wore a black shirt that had a white skull on it.

"Okay Pike," Rover said, more cautiously, "but you'd best be on your best behavior. And one more, please?"

No one answered. Some people whispered, still uncertain. I felt nervous. Were they that suspicious of me?

"Hmm…" Rover tapped his foot, then clapped his front paws. "Hey! Rodeo!"

From ahead, I heard a disturbed snort. "Huh, uh, what? What is it, chaps?"

"You never told me where you were moving, so I've got a place for you. Brand new town, with a human for an anchor."

"What?"

"Good grief, did he really sleep through all that?" someone further up in the carriage said.

Rover went up to get the guy. "Come on, Rodeo. I think this'll be good for you too."

When he came back, he was escorting someone even taller than Patty. Rodeo was a great bulky bull, a dark blue that was nearly black. However, he had strands of white hair covering his sleepy eyes. He smiled at me. "Hello there, chaps. I'm Rodeo. Nice to meet ya."

Smiling back, I shook his hoof. "You too, all of you. I'm Nadia."

"She looks awful peculiar, don't she?" the bull asked of Patty.

"Oh, she seems to be nice, so be nice," Patty said, sitting with Deena across from me. This caused Monique to move to the side, where a side bench was… huh? I can't remember that being there before.

On the other side, Rodeo sat down across from Pike, while Goose moved over to the side bench. "Looks like we're all going to be neighbors now!" the last said, swaying back and forth in a happy motion. "So we'd all better get along, buh-kay."

"Exactly," Rover said. "Now, I need to check up on some things, so you've got a few minutes to get to know each other. Then I've got to take Nadia in back so we can plan the town's basic appearance. Umm… oh yeah! Porter!" He turned around and opened up the door. "Did you get all that? Where else do we have to go?"

"Eek eek, sir! As things stand, we need to stop by Dusk, Twinkle, and Appleton."

"Good! We won't be taking on any new passengers until we get the new town settled, so send a telegram ahead."

"Right away!"

"Then, I'll leave you to each other," Rover said, heading into the darkened room in back.

I looked over at my new neighbors, then at the side bench. "Does this train change all by itself? I've seen it changed, without seeing it change."

Patty and Deena giggled. "Why yes, it does," Patty answered. "It changes to suit the needs of the passengers. Or on the whim of the crew, I think. And no one ever catches it changing; that just can't be done!"

"Are they going to serve breakfast?" Rodeo asked. "I just woke up, after all."

"I don't know," Patty said. "I've moved around a lot, but it's hard predicting when they'll serve food here."

"I hope they do," Goose said. "I mean, if we're starting a whole new town, it's gonna be a long day ahead of us."

Monique twisted her ears, looking puzzled. "What do you eat here?"

"Fish," Pike stated.

"A lot more than just fish," Goose said leaning forward. "There's fruits and vegetables which are always fresh, even in the dead of winter. And grains, so we can have pasta, bread, and pastries. Spices too, so every dish can be unique. And bugs, if you're into eating them. I am, buh-kay."

The ferret rolled his eyes. "Yeah, but fish is the only meat, end of story. Unless you count bugs." He shuddered.

"Eggs are a kind of meat," Deena said quietly. "And there's milk; I know most cats like milk."

"That doesn't sound too shabby," Monique replied.

"I've never tried bugs before," I said. "What're they like?"

Goose, Deena, Rodeo, and even Monique smiled at the question. The rooster was the one to answer, though. "It depends on the bug. Some are crunchy while others are soft. And some of them are mild, while others are real spicy. Oh man, one time I tried a scorpion. Even after you drain the poison out and roast it, that was hot hot hot!"

"Probably because you roasted it," Deena suggested. "If you marinate them in sweetened milk and grill them, they're not that bad."

"I like beetles," the bull said. "They're like potato chips, crisp and all kinds of flavors. And if you dip them in ranch dressing, it's even better."

"I always had them raw," the cat said, twitching her tail.

Deena smiled, managing that by curling her bill up some. "Oh, well now that you can cook them, you really ought to try it."

I nodded. "Huh. I might try that." Since other kinds of meats were obviously out of the question, I'd have to keep a mental check on myself to be careful about mentioning them.

Porter then walked into the room. "Now stopping at Dusk! Dusk! The local time in Dusk is September 2, 3:24 PM. Please wait patiently to disembark!" Then he turned to us. "Oh, and Rover is ready for you now, Nadia."

"Okay," I said, getting up.

"Hey Nadia!" Patty called.

"Hush sugarbill, we can't influence her…" Deena whispered loudly.

Still, the cow grinned. "Make us a good town, how now."

I nodded. "Right." Then I went in back with Porter.

Through the door was the caboose of the train. It was clearly a workspace, with a pair of desks, stacks of crates, and a digital schedule board. On the last, there weren't many entries, just Twinkle, Appleton, Chime City, and one labeled with a question mark. I guessed the last would be the town I was making, and wondered how that would work.

Although it was a workspace, it did have nice large windows. Rover waved me over to his desk, where a large piece of parchment was spread out. It had the form of a map, with a compass, blanks for names, scale markings, and a symbol key. However, it was just an empty form. I sat down in a chair beside the cat.

"So did anyone tell you anything about how to make your town?" he asked.

I shook my head. "No, although Patty did say to make a good one.

"Heh." He winked and pointed at me. "That's one thing you need to know about this place. It is a higher plane than reality. However, there are still many temptations about, some that may not be obvious."

"Everyone is being tested," I guessed.

"Right. Some pass, some fail, and some even decide to stay. It all depends on what an animal chooses and does. Now, before we get to into designing, I want to tell you some more about the role you have in Animal Crossing. An anchor is one of the most powerful positions in this realm; however, it is also the one with the heaviest responsibilities. Everyone's actions and choices affect what happens to them. But your actions and choices, those affect you, your neighbors, your town, everything around you. Get lazy and the town will suffer. Work hard and the town will prosper. Understand?"

That was the level of responsibility I was taking on? I felt nervous. "Maybe, but why does an anchor affect so much? Everyone's actions affect others around them."

Twitching his ears in thought, Rover paused, the pointed out the window. "Well let's try this. You've experienced what it was like out there, right?"

Recalling that, I shivered. "Yeah, it was silent and eerie. But there were those demons that came with little warning. And I couldn't seem to find a way away from the tombstone."

"And even if you could find a way to get away, you wouldn't have been able to figure out where to go. It's chaos out there. Like with time. All the workers that I've called in for you? They had a week's notice of the new town which only happened after I found you and called them. But it may seem only an hour, or even less, until we bring them on board. None of the towns are on the same time or day.

"Now sometimes, souls will come together and form a community, a kind of town. It will come from their collective imaginations. But it is only temporary; either the souls will have an argument and make their town fall apart, or the demons will come in and destroy it. The anchor is a person with an inner power that makes such towns permanent. Don't worry, you don't have to do anything; just your bright presence will enable the town to stay in place, like the anchor of a ship keeps it in place."

I put my hand to my chin, thinking. "So I will affect the town deeply because I'm part of its foundation?"

Rover nodded. "That's right. But it also means that you can't move out of your town. You can leave for a brief time to visit other places, but you absolutely cannot be gone for more than a day. If you are, then the town you founded will disappear and all the folks who were living there will become lost souls again. Granted, I can usually put everything right, but it takes a lot of time to track down everybody. I remember this once, I had two squirrels that lived in a vanished town. I got them mixed up on accident and both of them changed as a result. At least they forgave me of it."

"Okay, I'll keep that in mind."

"Great! Now, as to the town you're founding… got any ideas for what you want? Or a name?"

I closed my eyes, but then shook my head and looked back to him. "Um, no. I'm not sure where to start."

"That's all right. We'll work things out, mya. Now, since this will be your permanent residence, you ought to make a place that will be comfortable and enjoyable to you. The villagers can move from town to town, so if someone is dissatisfied, someone else may like it. Let's start with your house. Or more specifically, your yard. What would you want there?"

After giving it a moment's thought, I said, "Trees. There were never many trees at my old home, but I like the sounds the wind makes through the leaves and even through the branches in the winter. Maybe some flowers too. I don't know much about gardening, though."

Rover snickered. "Heh, well things work differently around here. Okay, so your house would be surrounded by trees with some flowers. Now let's say you took a daily walk around town. What would you want to see?"

That idea set my mind to working. "It would be nice if I had mostly dirt paths lined with lush grass, a natural place. If there was a river or a creek, that would look and sound really nice. And there could be a hill where people could have picnics and such."

At that, his ears perked up. "Ah yeah, a picnic hill would be excellent! Then you could enjoy a nice sandwich and chips lunch while looking over the whole town. Or the ocean. What kind of beach would you want?"

"A beach? Wouldn't that make the town a bit busy? I mean, if you've got the river, trees, hill, and then the ocean and the beach."

"Oh, it's normal for towns around here to have beaches. I can't think of any that don't. Like I said, things don't work the same in this realm, so standard geography doesn't work."

"In that case, I'd be fine with a sandy beach. I can't remember any beaches, but I think it would be fun to hunt for seashells."

"You can find out soon enough. Next, there are some facilities which always come with a town: a post office, a general store, a police station, but I want to talk with you about the city hall. What should it look like?"

"A city hall…" an image popped into my mind and I tried to describe it. "It would be made of brick and be classy. And…"

"Okay, that's should do," Rover said.

"Huh? I just said two things."

"But it appeared on the map," he said, pointing to the paper.

And indeed, it was no longer blank. It had a river which started on the northern border, just west of the train station and just east of a large hill. The river then snaked off to the southeast, dropped off a cliff in a waterfall, then continued east to a lake, then south until it reached the ocean at the southern border, almost at the eastern edge of town. With that, the town was split in two, with the northeast part smaller than the southwest. Some buildings had appeared, including the town hall in the southwest portion.

"I was just thinking that the town hall should be a kind of meeting place too," I said. "Like it should have an outdoors plaza or something for holidays and parties. I know what you said, but it is a community, so there should be a community space."

"That would be useful," Rover said, watching as the map tried to match my idea of the outdoors plaza. "That way, you don't end up having a muddy festival."

"That wouldn't be fun. Of course, there might also be an indoors meeting place too. Like..." in a second, the idea came to me, "like a coffee shop."

I noticed his ears perk up in interest again. "Ooo, a coffeehouse then? I know a guy… oh, and do you want a museum? We have a network of museums in Animal Crossing. They're all general museums, though, no focused themes like your dollhouse museum."

That made me smile. "That would be great still. I'd like that."

"Heh heh heh, you said you had no ideas, but then we've already got it complete."

"Once I had a place to start, it just came to me."

"Then I think you'll be a good anchor. Just one last thing: the town needs a name."

Looking over the map, I tried to find an inspiration. It came to me as I considered the picnic hill. "I think it should be called Verdant."

"Verdant, is it?"

"Yes."

"Mya, very nice! Okay then, we now have Verdant Town."

"Rover," Porter called over to us as the train whistled. "We're at Chime City."

He grinned his goofy grin. "Ah, perfect timing! Come on, Nadia, let's go meet your town's workers."

Going back into the other train car, I saw that Monique had relaxed some; she was talking with Patty. I waved to my new neighbors, then followed Rover over to the door in the center of the car. Outside the window, there was a pretty city. It wasn't like the concrete and glass sprawling monsters I could vaguely remember. Rather, it was like an old-fashioned fancy, stone and brick buildings along a cobblestone road, with decorative iron streetlamps and a fountain with a sculpture of a flock of birds. Maybe I would visit this place later.

There was quite a group of animal people outside. "Are there more workers than villagers?" I asked.

"For now," Rover admitted. "But more villagers can move in as you start to improve a place."

And there were a lot of workers. I had to return to my seat to make way for them, but there was a pair of dogs, a pair of owls, a pair of hedgehogs, a raccoon (I wasn't entirely sure about that), three pelicans, and an elderly turtle. Once they were all aboard and seated, Rover went to the engine for a minute.

As he came back, the train whistled. "Okay everyone, next stop is Verdant! The local time in Verdant will be December 1, 7:00 AM. Let's head out to your new home!"

As everyone cheered, I couldn't help but cheer along with them.

* * *

_I follow the spirit of the games, not the exact wording. I've got a mixture of features from several AC games, primarily the Gamecube and DS ones because those are the two I play. Twinkle and Dusk were towns I had on the 'cube. Appleton is one a friend has (although it's native fruit is peaches...). Verdant is unique; the word means lively and green, which fits the AC towns very well._

_The villagers talking in Chapter One were Pike, Goose, and Patty._


	3. Pancakes and Musical Chairs

**Chapter 3: Pancakes and Musical Chairs**

Monday, December 1

The train whistled as we pulled into Verdant. After my eyes adjusted from the dark tunnel to the bright morning light, I first saw lots of autumn colors: mostly browns, but with spots of yellow, red, orange, violet, and some remaining green. Leaves struggled to hang on their branches, but many had already fallen off to litter the ground. In that brownness, the cedar trees stood out with pretty green needles. I spotted some vibrant red apples hanging off one tree; I was glad, because apples are my favorite fruit. Although I knew for a fact that I had helped make this town just minutes before, it seemed as though Verdant had been here forever.

Porter called out from the back of the carriage, "Please wait until the train comes to a complete stop before getting up, eek eek. And leave in an orderly fashion. We hope your ride has been a pleasant one!"

As the train slowed, it jerked us around a bit. Definitely an older model. The station we came up to was a lovely one, a wooden structure with vines carved on the columns and a slanted room painted emerald green. For a moment, I could see a movement of pale blue, a flag fluttering beside the station's entryway. All the newness and fine details were getting me excited about our new home. It seemed like my funeral and the strange demons had happened long ago and far away.

Rover had sat down near us when the train started slowing. "Well Monique, Nadia, it's been a pleasure meeting you two! It might take a while to get settled into this life, but people around here are nice and will certainly help. I go from town to town in my duties, so I might see you…"

"Rover, eek!" Just as the train stopped, the engineer monkey opened up the door to our carriage. "There's something odd about this town."

As some whispers started (and Pike smirked), Rover got up and went to the front of the carriage. "Odd? What is it?"

"Go out and look in back of the train, you can't miss it."

"Dangerous?"

"I don't think so."

"All right. Let's go, people." Rover opened up the door and stepped onto the station platform.

I was in the back of the carriage, so I was one of the last to get out. What was so odd? Monique took my arm and came out with me. The end of her tail was twitching nervously. For a moment, I was struck by how odd it was that she was now almost as tall as me. But I did have to fit in here, one way or another. That included getting used to oddness.

The roof structure blocked view of whatever everyone was gawking at, so we left the station and came out at a little stone path leading into an opening where everyone was gathered. Although this was a town, I didn't see any buildings besides the station right off. There was a large billboard by the stairs we walked down, showing a large map of Verdant and holding a box of smaller maps if people wanted to take one. But everyone was looking off to the west.

Soaring high above the normal trees' canopy layer, there was a gigantic tree standing in the northwest corner. That was where the large hill was, I recalled. Although early morning mist made the hill hard to see, the giant tree was unmistakable, casting a large shadow over everything. Its branches spread far out, not enough to reach over us, but far enough that the golden-yellow leaves it dropped were drifting down to us.

The old turtle spoke up. "In all my years, I've never seen a tree grow to be quite that large. Is it meant to be here?"

"I wasn't expecting something like that," Rover admitted. I went over closer to him in time to see his whiskers twitch. "It has a strong aura of life… and it's not malevolent. Huh." Then he grinned. "Well, what we can say for certain is that Verdant has a completely unique landmark! Hah hah! I'll be looking into these matters, I promise. And when I come up with some definite facts, I'll let you all know. But I've got to be going. Can't stop this train for too long. Well everyone, good luck in your new home and I hope you all make Verdant a wonderful place!"

"Goodbye Rover," I said. "Thanks for everything; you're quite kind for being a reaper."

He laughed at that. "Now that's what I like to hear! Later gators!" He jumped over the station's railing and boarded the train again. As it blew its whistle, Rover waved to us before the train left town heading east.

"Welcome to Verdant, everyone," the old turtle said cheerfully. "Including me, ha ha! I would be your mayor, Tortimer. Now I know some of you may have had a long trip here, and that all of us have a long day ahead of us in setting up new homes, getting to know the town, and making new friends. So to start off the day, I'm throwing everyone a pancake breakfast."

There were cheers from many of the animals, an especially happy one from Rodeo. And right where there had been an empty meadow, there were now six round tables scattered around in front of the train station. Set with red and white checkered tablecloths and three chairs each, the tables were ready with an array of pancakes, toppings, drinks, and side dishes. I felt quite hungry at the delicious scents waiting for us.

"Now remember your table manners, everyone," Tortimer said. "And take a seat."

Monique and I chose a table that was close to an apple tree. Her nose twitched and she looked curiously over the options. "I've never tried pancakes," she said, looking over the stack of golden-brown cakes. "They smell much more appetizing now."

"Then try some," I said, taking three for myself. "Your tastes have likely changed when you changed form."

She took one, poking it with her knife. "What do you put on them?"

"Usually some butter and maple syrup. But this berry topping looks good. My dad always put molasses on his."

Her ears twisted back. "Syrup and molasses? That might get stuck in my fur…" she spotted a shaker of cinnamon sugar and picked it up to sniff it. That seemed to decide it as she shook that over her pancake.

"Mind if I join you lasses?" Tortimer said, taking the third seat without waiting for an answer. "Both of you are new souls, huh? And you're our anchor?"

I nodded. "That's right. I'm Nadia, and this is my friend Monique." Friend, I mentally reminded myself. Not a pet any longer. "It's good to meet you."

"Huh. Now sprout, who do you respect most: your father, your mother, your grandfather, or your grandmother?"

That was an unexpected question. I couldn't quite figure it out, as what I remembered said that I liked and respected all of them. But feeling that it would humor the old turtle most, I said, "My grandfather."

And it did, as he grinned while grabbing a coffee cup and the coffeepot. "Heh heh heh, have I inspired a grandfatherly affection already? Splendid. Coffee?"

"Yes please," I said, taking a cup, but allowing him to pour it. Not sure of how they made coffee here, I picked up the cup, sniffed it, then took a little sip. "A little flat, I think." I added some milk and sugar to it, then added a glass of orange juice. There, that was a great breakfast.

"I'm afraid so," Tortimer said. "I'm not much of a coffee brewer and it's never easy to get it right when doing this."

"I wasn't much better at it," I admitted.

He smiled at me. "I think I like you. And you, what do you like to do when you have a moment to yourself?"

Monique tensed. "Me? Well…" she blinked, trying to recall. "I like to sit in high places and watch others. Oh, may I have the butter? I like these pancakes, but they would be better with butter."

Since it was closer to me, I handed the butter dish to her.

"Very much like a cat," Tortimer said, then took a sip of his coffee. "I suppose it would be a nice thing, but I'm not one for heights. Never could climb up to most of them. What do you sprouts think of that tree over there?"

"I don't think I'd climb that one," Monique replied. "I mean, I like high place, but that may be too high. And…" her whiskers twitched, "Rover is right. I smell a strong aura of life from it. It's nice to sharpen my claws, but I just know I'd feel bad if I put my claws to that tree."

"It reminds me of Yggdrasil," I said.

"Yugg-da-what?" Tortimer asked. "I don't keep up on the trends of youth, so I've never heard of such a thing."

A laugh nearly escaped me, but I managed to keep it down to a smile. "Yggdrasil is an ancient myth among humans. It's the world tree, which grows on the mortal Earth, but supports the weight of Heaven on its top. It's also said to be a source of life and wisdom. It's Norse myth, the same source that Loki came from."

Monique's ears went back. "Loki? So that tree could be his work?"

Fiddling with the choker on my neck, I said, "Maybe. Is this a tree? It feels like it and I didn't get a good look at it when he put it on me."

Tortimer adjusted his glasses. "Why yes, it is a golden tree, sprout, like the leaves of golden color that giant is dropping. So who's this Loki fellow?"

"Loki is a god of mischief and chaos," I told him. "He doesn't like complacency and stirs up trouble as much as he helps others."

"And we know he was the one who pushed Nadia into this realm," Monique added. "I was… I was still on four paws then, and I could do nothing against him. He said he was neither good nor evil. I don't like him. I hope that tree isn't from him. It doesn't smell like him."

"That's like the impression I get off the tree," Tortimer said. "It not exactly good and it's not exactly evil. But it is a strong force of life. I hope it will be a blessing to us, not a curse. Oh, right!" Looking over the table, he found a metal spoon and rapped the table with it. "Everyone, there's something I forgot to mention about this pancake breakfast. All these chairs are musical chairs."

"What?" someone from another table asked.

"They aren't making any sounds," someone else added.

Tortimer cackled. "They will in a short time. And when they do, everyone will be transported to a different chair! You will still have your own plate, utensils, and meal, but you will have new tablemates to talk to. It is an excellent way to meet a lot of people in a short amount of time. Get ready, because I feel the first change coming up."

"This will be… interesting," Monique said, showing a distinct lack on interest.

Either the turtle missed the sarcasm or ignored it. "Right! I love this kind of game. Oh, and before we shift things about, you sprouts ought to know that when festivals and special days come up, I always have something special to celebrate with. Come talk to me on those days and you might get a nice gift for the holiday. Like this." He handed us both a strange item.

I turned it in my hand, trying to figure it out. It was a soft green leaf, oval and pointed at the end. At the end of its long stem, there was ring with a square tag. A picture on that tag showed a pretty white pansy with a blue interior. Writing below the picture stated, 'White Pansies, fl., acc., fur.'.

"What is this?" Monique asked. "Yellow Pansies?"

"You'll figure it out soon," Tortimer said. "For now, you can put them in your bags until you know what to do with them. Oh, here we go!"

As he said that, the chairs played a short and playful melody. There was a moment where my perception seemed wobbly, and then I was at the table nearest to the train station. Two different people were with me, a violet feathered pelican and red feathered owl. Shaking her head, the pelican groaned, "Ugh, this is not how I want to be spending my morning." She turned her attention back to her pancakes.

"At least it's early in the day," the owl said, then yawned. "Oh, sorry. I'm usually not up in the daytime."

"That's understandable," I said. "My name is Nadia."

"Aren't you a pretty child?" the owl said with a smile. I was surprised she could manage it with that kind of beak. Maybe it was just this realm. "I'm Celeste, and I'm a museum assistant. I came with my brother Blathers over there to run Verdant's museum." She pointed a wing over at the brown-feathered owl, who was happily talking to Deena.

I smiled. "Great! Oh, but I'm not really a child. I was… well, I think I was around forty years old before I came here."

Celeste's eyes went wide. "Oh my, really?" Then she smiled. "This realm does change you. So who are you, dear?" She looked to the pelican.

"Phyllis," she replied grumpily. "I'll be working at the post office in the town hall, the night shift. Normally I'd be in bed now, but they're probably going to drag me into helping set things up…" she left off grumbling, then drank some of her coffee.

After eating some more pancake, I decided to talk to Celeste, as Phyllis probably just needed some sleep. "What kind of museum are you running?"

"It's a branch of the famous Farway Museum," she said with pride. A golden leaf fell on her head, so she plucked it off. "We still need to get into the building and look around, but I know we'll have a fossil display; Blathers wouldn't agree to run it otherwise, you see. There will be a bug and fish area, but past that, each museum is a little different. Hmm," she turned the leaf over, then handed it to me. "It's quite pretty, but just gold in color."

She was right. I bent the leaf in my fingers, feeling its smooth surface. Then I let it drop to the ground. "Right. But this town was just made; how would there be fossils in this realm?"

A bit embarrassed, she replied, "Well, the experts don't really know, but folks find them in the ground often. My brother could tell you more. My interest lies more in astronomy, so I'm hoping this museum will have an observatory."

"That would be wonderful," I agreed. "I hope you don't mind a change of subject, but Tortimer gave me this green leaf thing that says it's a pansy. What does it do?"

"Oh, the item leaves? Well you…" she scratched her head, thinking. "Oh, I'm not sure how to describe it."

"Aren't you museum workers supposed to be educated?" Phyllis said, giving her an annoyed look.

Celeste got flustered. "Well yes, I have my degree! But you work with them all the time and it gets to where you don't really think about it anymore."

Rolling her eyes, the pelican pulled one out of her bag. "You take it in your hand and you turn it in your mind." The item leaf then turned into a plain red umbrella. "And then you turn it back, with your mind." The umbrella then turned back.

"In your mind?" I asked.

"Just try it already," Phyllis retorted.

"Okay." I put the fork down and pulled the pansy leaf out of my bag. Turn it in my mind… like turning it over? That didn't work. Or maybe turn it from the leaf into the pansies. That worked, and there was now a rectangular pot in my hand. Three cheery white pansies sat in it. "Oh, I see. They're pretty."

"Aren't they?" Celeste said. "You can put that in your house as a decoration. Or, if you turn it in another way, you can plant them in the dirt outside. But my favorite, with flowers like that, is to turn them into wearable accessories. Most flowers will turn into a hairclip that way."

"Really?" I had changed the potted plant back to a leaf already. So it could turn into a hairclip? I gave it a try, and there it was in my hand: a metal barrette with a single blossom on it. "Oh, that's cute! If I had a mirror, I'd put it on."

"You may borrow mine," Celeste said, pulling a leaf out of her handbag, then turning into a pink hand mirror. Then she gave it to me.

"Thank you," I said. Using that, I put it on the right side of my head. With the mirror, I could see my brown hair better; it was straight with a row of bangs. I adjusted the mirror so I could see that I had peach skin, light brown eyes with long eyelashes, a small thin nose, and dimples by my lips. On my neck, there was Loki's choker, a black band with a golden tree clip on the front center. Then I gave the mirror back to Celeste.

Then the chairs played their song again. "Make sure to visit us soon," Celeste said before we all got shifted to different seats.

This time, I was back under the apple tree with Rodeo and the brown-furred raccoon. The bull had a stack of six pancakes covered in maple syrup, berry sauce, and honey. He gave me a smile. "Hi again, Nadia. And hi Nook."

"Yes, I am one of the Nook tanuki family," he said. "I'm Tom, good to meet you. And you must be our town anchor."

I nodded. "Yes, hello Tom, and Rodeo. Pardon me, but what is a tanuki?"

He smiled. "We're special residents of Animal Crossing, actually. Tanuki are a myth in reality, but many of us live here. My family runs the general stores in each town and while we might all look alike, we are each a little different." Then Tom chuckled. "Oh, and I'm so glad there's a new town now. I finished my apprenticeship several months ago, but there were no new shops for me. I had to move from town to town assisting my cousins and brothers, but now I'll finally have my own shop."

"Well congratulations then," I said. "I hope it works out for you."

"Me too. Oh, and I'm glad I got to talk with you too. I spoke to Monique at the last table, but part of my duties as shop owner is helping new citizens of Animal Crossing get settled in. After breakfast, the two of you should come with me to my store. I'll put you to work for a while, letting you learn how things work in this realm."

"It's a bunch of chores you have to do," Rodeo said. "But not that tough. Although I remember that all the running about made me exhausted at the end of the day."

I nodded, not having to think on it long. "All right. You do learn things best by doing them yourself."

"That is very true," Tom said, delighted to have my agreement. "And I'll even give you some pay by taking some bells out of your debt."

Huh? "Bells out of my debt?"

"Right. Bells are the currency we use in this realm; they're the same in every town. And while you will have your own house in Verdant, you do have to pay for it yourself. It's an important responsibility." He picked up his juice and took a drink. "Now if you'll excuse me, I haven't really gotten to eat much during this little game of the mayor's."

I chuckled. "Sure, neither have I." We spent a few minutes just eating quietly. These were hearty pancakes the mayor had cooked. Or summoned, or something. From my best guess, they were made of a mix of white and wheat flour, so that there was the fluffiness of the white with the goodness of the wheat. There were also various seeds and oats inside. They tasted delicious with the maple syrup and the berry sauce, even when the two mixed together. While the coffee was so-so, the orange juice tasted fresh and cool.

Then Rodeo pushed a plate towards me. "Here, try this fish bacon."

Ummm… I looked at it and it seemed like normal bacon, brown, crispy, and fatty. "Fish bacon?"

He nodded. "Yup, made from the famous bacon fish."

At that, I giggled. "Bacon fish, huh? All right." I took a slice and gave it a test bite. And it tasted very much like bacon, salty and meaty. "Oh, that's good stuff." I took two more slices, feeling that it might be as unhealthy as real bacon, so I wouldn't want much.

"It is very good," Tom agreed. "But I try not to eat much, and wrap it in a napkin if I do. It might not be much to you with all that skin, but to those of us with furry paws," he held his left up and wiggled his fingers, "any grease or anything sticky is gross when it gets stuck."

"I imagine," I said. "Although greasy fingers are nasty in any case."

As some musical notes started up, Tom said, "Here we go again. See you later, Nadia."

"Later Tom." And then we all changed chairs again. It was a quick way to meet people, but I wondered how much longer this would last.

I was now at a table with the brown furred hedgehog and the shorter of the two dogs. The latter seemed to be a pit bull of some sort, while the former already had finished her meal and was just drinking coffee now. "I think I'll decline the mayor's coffee from now on," the hedgehog said. "Politely, of course."

I smiled. "Of course. I'm Nadia, nice to meet you both."

Smiling back, the hedgehog nodded. "I'm Sable Able and I'll be running the tailor's shop. Oh, I hope it's okay with you…"

"A tailor would be nice to have around," I said. "I wasn't expecting one, though."

"So you don't mind me?" she asked, tilting her head.

I shook my head. "Not at all. Variety is good."

Sable gave a sigh of relief. "Phew, that's good. I was worried, you know, since I didn't get an official invitation to move here. But I happened to be in the same town as Tom Nook when he got his invitation to run the main store, and he told me. Me and my sister Mabel had never moved before, but I thought this would be a good opportunity. We weren't selling many clothes in our old town, you see."

"Ah. Well I'm glad you got word of Verdant. So will there be a shop you can set up in?"

"Yes, I've already checked on the map and it seems like a wonderful location." She twisted her paws together. "But I wonder how much longer this will take. It's going to take time to set up shop and I never like having idle paws." She then glanced at the dog, who had been listening quietly. "Oh my, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to be rude, sir."

"Um, it's okay, I guess," the dog said, looking nervous at being the center of attention. "I'm Booker, one of the police dogs. I, um, I'm not a very good speaker. But I am good at my job, just, you know, talking to others…" his voice drifted off and he looked down at his plate.

"That's okay," I said, trying to be kind. "Sometimes I find it hard to talk too."

"I'm usually just too busy," Sable said, shifting in her seat.

"Copper would be the one to talk to, I think," Booker said. "I just met him, but he seems quite chatty, and energetic, I guess."

It was clear that these two weren't comfortable talking with strangers, so I simply nodded and worked on finishing my breakfast. By the time I finished the pancakes and bacon, the musical chairs went off again. I ended up in the middle of the table grouping with the white male pelican and Pike. They were both mostly done, while I just had my juice to finish off now. "Hello Pike," I said politely.

"Hmph," was the only reply the ferret would give.

So I looked to the pelican. "Hi, I'm Nadia, nice to meet you."

He smiled. "Hello there. I'm Pete, and I'll be this town's mailman. I deliver all the letters around town, so I'm going to be very busy from now on."

"You think there'll be that many letters?" I asked. I didn't recall writing many letters in life, although email and phone messages were common.

Pete nodded. "Of course! Everyone loves to get letters, right? So villagers write each other daily, even sending gifts through the mail. And the businesses will often send notices to customers of special sales or events. If you want to get along with everybody, you'll learn to write really good letters."

"That does sound good," I said. "What about mail between towns?"

"Oh, I don't handle that. It can be done if you know where your friend lives, but there's another guy who delivers mail between towns. That's a dangerous job, see, because it involves passing through the outer mists."

"That's the stuff that is always on the border of towns," Pike said gruffly. "That weird white haze that makes you disoriented. So don't ever go past the fence, cliff, ocean, or whatever without someone who can keep the outer mists at bay."

Maybe he wasn't so bad, I thought, if he'd give me that kind of advice when he clearly didn't like me. Or maybe he didn't want the town to vanish and leave him in the outer mists. "Okay, thanks for letting me know."

"One time I flew into the mists on accident," Pete said. "I couldn't find my way back, of course, and I got attacked by flying piranhas. Horrible things; they sapped the energy right out of me. And then I heard the train whistle. I could follow that back to the tracks, and then those back to the nearest town. It wasn't my hometown, but they took me in while I recovered. Now I'm extra careful when I fly close to the borders."

"Flying piranhas sound frightening. So do you know Phyllis and the other pelican girl?"

He shook his head. "Nah, I just met them. But they're sisters, actually, Phyllis and Pelly. The first one is running the night shift, while the other is running the day shift, both at the town hall. That's where the post office is located in Verdant. Sometimes it's a separate building, but I rather like being in the town hall."

I nodded, then smiled. "There's a lot of people to get to know this morning, huh? I hope I don't mix anybody up."

"Oh, I know!" Pete said. "Today's going to be frantic since this morning, all the villagers are going to be choosing where they want to live. So I've not only got to learn this town's layout and air patterns, but I have to figure out who's living where too. I've had a good record so far, and I don't want to wreck it by delivering mail to the wrong address. Make sure to label your envelopes clearly."

"Right, I will."

Then a metal clatter interrupted our conversation. "Okay folks, have we gotten to know a number of people now?" Tortimer called. "I'm sure you've all got lots of things to do today, so finish up your meal and head on out to find your new home. There's maps free for the taking at the sign and I'm sure most of you know what to do. I hope you all have a good and productive day!"

I finished off my orange juice, then wiped my napkin across my face. Hopefully, I'd gotten anything off. "I'll see you two around, then."

"Right," Pete said. "I'd better go; the mayor lives with us in the town hall, so somebody had better make sure he gets over there. He's rather old. See ya, Nadia, Pike." He then walked off to meet with Tortimer and the other two postal workers.

"Harrumph," Pike muttered. Then he got up and stepped closer to me. "I'm watching you, human. Don't forget it." The ferret then left to find his new home.

Looking around, I saw that some folks were still eating, while others were getting maps and figuring out where they wanted to be. Monique was by the large board with Goose, talking with him about running. "I always get a good jog around town in every morning and every evening," the rooster said. "That's how you stay fit, buh-kay."

"I'd prefer a nice walk myself," she replied. "It's relaxing, especially when you climb a tree too." Noticing me, she asked, "Oh, Nadia, did you talk with that Tom Nook fellow?"

I nodded as I took a map. "Yeah, he wants us to work for him today."

"Then you two girls ought to go find him," Goose said. "Don't want to show up late for a job. I'll be seeing you two around." He checked his map, then jogged off to the south.

Thankfully, the tanuki wasn't too far off, at the edge of the area checking over his own map. "Okay, that should be a good location," he said to himself.

"Hey Nook," I said.

"Oh good," he said, turning to us with a smile. "Are you both ready?"

"Yes," Monique said as I nodded.

"Great, then let's head down to the store." And we started off on what would be a long day.

* * *

_There are a lot of characters in Animal Crossing, even considering just one town. Also, I made a slight fix to Chapter 2, just adjusting the layout of Verdant so that the lake isn't directly beneath the waterfall. That makes my map look more like it could have come from the games. Well, aside from the picnic hill with the giant tree on it.  
_

_My knowledge on Norse mythology is not quite as deep as some others, but I'm trying not to take things too out of context. And before anyone asks, no, my username has nothing to do with Yggdrasil._

_Thanks to those of you who have reviewed this! I'm glad you like it. My inspiration actually came from within the games themselves, the generic letters and conversations you get from villagers. And also me rolling my eyes at some of the attempts to make dark fics out of Animal Crossing. You can make fanfics more realistic (for being a town of animals...), but there's something about the addition of gore and murderous mayhem that ruins the heart of the games.  
_


	4. Setting Up Shop

**Chapter 4: Setting Up Shop**

Monday, December 1

"Oh, now that's not good," Tom Nook said as we stood at the top of a long slope that led to the lower level of town. "Things are going to be a hassle with that there."

The thing he was talking about was obvious even to us new people. Between the end of the slope and the river, there was a cluster of eight trees that were growing incredibly close to one another. They were like a roadblock and if we wanted to walk through them, we'd have to squeeze between them. On the other side of this tree 'wall', there was the bridge we needed to cross.

"How do they grow that close together?" I asked. "And so many of them?"

He sighed as we walked around the trees. Dry leaves crinkled under our feet. At this point, I noticed that Tom wore natural-tan sandals and Monique had something like pink kitten heels. "I hear it's something that happens with new towns, that the trees get clumped like this. Somebody ought to take an axe and thin out that group; it'll make our town look bad, especially on a main walkway like this. But, I'll be busy with the shop."

"What do you sell in your store?" I asked. Since my mind was still on them, I added, "Things like shoes?"

"Not shoes," he said, shifting his pale green bag from slipping off his shoulder. "You'd have to go to a city to find a shoe store, and even then most animals choose to go without them. And since we have a tailor shop in town, I won't be selling clothes or umbrellas either. But I will be selling many other useful things: tools, furniture, stationary, saplings, flower seeds, carpeting and wallpaper, and some other items."

"Who sells food?" Monique asked. We were crossing the bridge then, an old-style stone arched bridge. Below it flowed a lazy blue river which gurgled pleasantly along its pebbled banks.

Tom twitched his tail. "Well some things will be provided for free, including basic food items. If you want to have something specific for a special meal, I can arrange for it to be delivered, for a small fee. There are other things like that, basic items that you can find specialty versions of either in a city or through my catalog, like toiletries and cleaning supplies. And basic utilities are free as well. That stuff you'd pay for in the real world, but it's a magnet for greedy folks when we're trying to improve everyone."

A few minutes later, we arrived at his store. I have to admit, it was pitiful looking: a wooden building with a metal roof and a large white sign that said, 'Nook's Cranny'. In front of it was an amorphous stone pavement with some rougher stones near the doorway, presumably to scuff off dirty paws and shoes before entering.

"This place looks old and dingy," Monique said, twisting her ears back in distaste of entering.

However, Tom had a small smile on his face. "Yeah, I know. I'm being tested as much as you, so I have to start from the very bottom. But it's my own place at last, which makes me glad." He twisted the brass knob and opened the door. It creaked and complained, but let us inside.

The shop wasn't much better on the inside. As we walked on the dark rock floor, we couldn't see the back wall well, even though it was a small building. The only lighting was a single lantern holding a flickering candle. I looked along the walls and spotted dry cobwebs, as well as the entrance to a bathroom. In one way, it was amazing that the store could look so old when the town was so new. In another, I agreed with Monique that it was distasteful.

"Hoo boy," Tom said softly, as if thinking over the long road ahead of him. "Well ladies, let's clean up this place as best we can. I know it won't be much, but every bit counts, eh? Oh but first, since you're working for me, you need uniforms. Let's see they're… here we go." He handed us two items that appeared to be folded striped shirts. But they had the item tags like the leaves, saying that they were 'Work Clothes'.

"Errr," Monique said, looking uncomfortable.

"We'll change in the restroom," I said.

Tom nodded. "Sure. It works like the item leaves do: turn them with your mind."

The restroom was kind of small for both of us to be in there, having a single toilet, a plastic waste bin, a chipped mirror, and an old sink. The white cat looked to the clothes item. "So turn them… into what we're wearing?'

"I suppose so." I tried it myself, mentally telling it to switch from my daisy dress to this work clothes. There was a momentary sparkle on my clothes as they turned white, then changed from a pleated dress to a straight apron with plain clothes underneath. When the sparkle vanished, I was wearing a blue-gray apron with a bitten leaf printing on the front. Underneath it was a yellow shirt and tan pants.

Then Monique changed, wrinkling her nose. "Ugh, this is so unsophisticated."

I chuckled. "Work clothes are never pretty."

We then left the restroom, getting approval from Tom. Taking the supplies from his bag, the storekeeper gave us what we would need. Monique took some cleaning solution and a cloth and did her best to clean the windows. I took a broom and brushed all the cobwebs off the wall. Tom had another broom and helped me with that. As there was dust up there somehow, the three of us ended up sneezing a lot, even with the brisk breeze coming in the open windows and door. After that, Tom and Monique went outside to clean the tables he had been given.

I got the sticky webs off the broom as best I could, then started sweeping the floor of loose dirt. In back, there was a small door which led to some other rooms. After getting the main floor swept, I went out and asked, "Hey Tom, do you want me to get the back rooms too?"

"Let me come in with you first," he said, putting down his cleaning cloth. "Part of that would be my apartment, so I want to make sure it's okay."

I nodded, then followed him into the back. The first room was square and had a strange machine in it. Reminding me of airport security checkpoints somehow, it had a flat metal flooring and top, plastic sides with some devices in them, and a computer console with a flat screen. "What is this?"

Tom patted the sides. "This is my shipping device; how I'll be getting all the goods I sell. Don't mess with the machine itself; I'll clean it when I hook it up and make some test orders. And sweep gently around it, as it can't get dust inside its parts."

"All right, I'll be careful then."

There were two open doorways from the shipping area. One was a storage closet, presumably for these cleaning items and anything else he'd need in the store to run it. The other led to stairs that went down to a hidden basement. This was Tom's new apartment.

Lit from small rectangular windows at ground level, it reminded me of an empty dorm room. There was a single bed, a plain chair, another candle (this one in an old-style brass holder), and a desk. Off to the sides, there were small utilities areas, like a bathroom, a tiny kitchenette, and a laundry area. "Frugal," I commented.

"You'll be starting in about the same fashion," Tom told me. "Monique is a little luckier, though. In this realm, the greater potential for power that you have, the shorter end of the stick you start with. Well, get the cobwebs and sweep the floor here; I'll take care of any further cleaning. Oh, let me get you a dustbin too, since you can't just sweep out the door now."

It took me some time to get through cleaning the basement apartment, the stairs, and the shipping area. When I met back up with them, Tom and Monique had set up several hefty wooden tables in two rows, a floor mat with faint lighting (apparently for furniture), a checkout counter, and another computer-like machine. "This is a Nook Point System Counter," the tanuki was explaining. "You get a certain number of points every time you make a purchase, with more expensive items being worth more points. When you build up enough points, you get special rewards and deals."

"That's worthwhile," Monique said.

After putting the broom and dustbin in the storage closet, I came into the main room. "I'm done with the sweeping."

"Good, thank you." He looked around, then went to his bag to retrieve more items. "All right, the next part I have to do myself. Trade secrets, you see. In the meantime, take these seed packets and saplings, to plant around the store. A pleasant surrounding makes for a good shopping experience, right?"

"If that could only apply to the inside, pffffft," the cat said, taking some of the seed packets.

"In time, all in good time. I'll have to prove myself by making a certain level of revenue before I can upgrade the shop. You could help by buying things. Anyhow, planting is pretty easy. Find a spot you like and place the seed packet or sapling there, then, as usual, turn with your mind so that it is placed in the ground. Oh, and keep in mind that those saplings grow fast."

"Like a year?" I asked, thinking on my old maple tree.

That made Tom laugh. "No, no, not that long! They'll grow to full maturity in less than a week."

"Less than a week?" Monique asked, apparently as shocked as I was. "What do you guys have in the ground out here to make trees grow that fast?"

"Things work differently here. Okay, so close the door behind you and make sure to knock when you're finished. Don't come in until I'm finished." He then waved us off with his paws, eager to get to his work.

"Okay, sir," I said, placing some packets and saplings in my bag. They were all in little bags, so it was no problem. Once we were out of the shop, I took a deep breath. "Phew, out of that dusty place."

Monique giggled. "Right, I'll definitely be cleaning up well when this job is done. Oh, but I have to get use to showering like you do, huh? There could be some benefits to that, like fewer hairballs."

"That's true. So what have we got to plant?" I sat down and started arranging things on the pavement. The cat joined me.

In total, we had four saplings, two yellow roses, a white rose, three red pansies, a white pansy, two yellow tulips, a red tulip, a white tulip, a sun cosmos, a white cosmos, and a red cosmos. I really didn't know much about gardening, but since things were simpler here, we just had to come up with a design. We decided to cluster the flowers by color, with the yellows on one side of the pavement, the whites on the other, and the reds spread around to provide contrast. As for the saplings, I didn't think it was a good idea to plant them by the building, so we place a pair in view of the windows, then the other two in open spots nearby.

With that task done, Monique went up and knocked on the door. "Tom? We're done with the gardening."

"Oh good," a muffled voice came from the other side. There was a thump of something being set down, then some footsteps. Opening the door only partway, Tom looked at our work. "Hmm, that works. I don't know much about gardening myself, but I don't think anyone will be real picky. And I can always say I wasn't the one to arrange it, heh."

Monique rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I bet that's why you had us do it, pffffft."

His look softened. "Hey, no hard feelings. Anyhow, I've still got work to do with this, and lunchtime is coming up soon as it is. But I was just thinking, you two haven't even gotten your houses picked out, have you?"

"That's right," I said, scratching my chin. "That's what everyone else went out to do after breakfast."

"Hold on a moment." He shut the door again, then came back outside a minute later (shutting the door behind him). "Okay, I have one villager key and one anchor key. These operate in different manners, so listen close."

We took the keys he offered us. Monique had a silver key that looked old-fashioned, as long as her paw. On its handle, there was a heart symbol. I had a brass key that had a similar structure, but had a circle with wings on the handle.

Tom looked to the cat first. "The villagers can move into any location marked by a small wooden sign. There will be a notice on one side and a keyhole with this symbol on the other. When you find a sign at a location you like, place the key in the keyhole and turn it. The ground will then glow with the footprint of your house, so move off it quickly and a generic villager house will appear. You can modify the outer structure and paint, as well as anything in the interior. We'll talk about that more later."

Then he turned to me. "The anchor can move into only four specific spots in town. These locations are marked by a large white stone; you'll know it when you see it. And it'll have a keyhole with that mark on it too. Chose carefully, because once you pick a spot, you cannot move at all as the other three stones will disappear. Also, you must choose by the first sunset. It's part of the process that will secure the safety, foundation, and order of our town. You may also modify your house as you please, but as I said before, you will start with less and it will cost more to make the modifications.

"Finally, once you both have your house, you need to make sure not to lose your key. Your house will automatically be locked if you are not inside your house and will only open if you approach with your key. Replacement keys can be ordered, but they will cost you while these ones are free. Got that?"

We nodded. "Sure thing," I said.

He nodded back, smiling. "Good. Now if you'll excuse me… I'll be expecting you back around one, so be sure to check your watches! See you later." He then went back into his shop.

"See you later," I called. Then I turned to Monique. "Looks like we get to explore town."

"I hope there's some good spots left," she said, pulling out her map. "Um, where do we want to start?"

"Hmmm…" I brought out my own map and noticed something. "Hey, it lists where all the other villagers are living. Maybe we can ask them where some signs or those white rocks are."

"Sounds good. Looks like Patty and Deena are close by."

According to the map, they had chosen spots to the southwest, close to the store and the town hall. The tailor shop was close to the beach southeast from here, the museum was between the tailor's and Nook's, and Pike had gone in the very southwest corner right on the beach. Near the train station was the police office, making the only other building on the eastern part of Verdant Goose's house, which was on a small strip of land near the beach. However, there were only two bridges: the one we had crossed, and another on top of the higher level which led to Rodeo's house and the giant tree on its hill. And there were just two ramps up and down the cliff, on either side of the river.

"Goose is going to be the hard one to reach," I said. "He's all the way on the other side of the lake. Well let's go see the other girls."

It was a cool winter day with a stiff breeze, making me wish that I had fur too, or at least heavier clothes. The sky was a lovely blue without any clouds in the sky. On the ground, there was a natural dirt path among the short but full grass; the grass had a red-violet hue unlike other grass I had seen. It took a few minutes, but we reached the two houses.

Patty and Deena were outside, chatting with each other. But they paused on seeing us. "Oh, hi Nadia, Monique!" Patty called. "You'd be working for Nook, huh?"

"Yeah," I said, then shivered. "I'd feel better if the clothes weren't so light."

"You can change that when you change clothes," Deena said. "Just make sure to keep what you want in mind. It is harder than just changing, but it is very helpful."

I pulled my daisy shirt out. "I suppose since we're on break, I can test that." I managed to make it long sleeved with a longer skirt. Only a medium weight, but that was good enough for this weather.

"We're looking for places to live," Monique said. "We were wondering if you knew of some spots where we could at least see what we're looking for."

"Oh sure," Patty said. "We saw some spots, but we wanted to be near each other and the shops. Um, but what are the anchors looking for?"

"Large white rocks with a keyhole," I said.

"I saw one of those, sugarbill," Deena said. As she came over to me, I tilted my map so she could see it. "It was about here, I think," she said, pointing to a spot halfway between the shop and the town hall. "And there was a sign near there too, but it wasn't close enough to any others for us."

"I saw one of those stones too, how now," Patty said. "It's closer to the beach, down here." She indicated an area south of the town hall. "As for the signs, there's a lot more of those left, so once you see one, it shouldn't be too hard to find the others."

"You can even just find a spot you like on the map and look there for signs," the duck added.

"Okay, thanks." I then checked my watch. "Well if we want to look about town and have lunch, we'd better get going. We'll see you two around."

"Later then," Patty said cheerily. "And good luck finding your homes."

Monique and I first went to the spot between the shop and the town hall, since that was close by. As we walked along the path, we spotted a wooden sign nearby. It was almost square and had a white panel on it. The panel read 'Will buy fruit. Apples: 100 Bells. Others: 500 Bells. –Nook'. On the other side, there was the keyhole with the heart symbol.

"So this is what I'm looking for," the cat said, looking at the sign. She turned around, looked at the area around her. Nook's shop was visible through some trees to the west, while what must be the town plaza was through the trees to the east. Putting a paw to her chin, she considered it. "I don't know. It's okay, but nothing special."

While she was thinking it over, I saw a white spot a short ways off. "I think I see where the rock is. It's nearby."

"Let's go see."

The rock was almost like marble, mostly a matte white with streaks of shiny white running about its surface. With its flat surfaces, it was big enough that the two of us could have sat on it together. It had a keyhole with the winged circle symbol in the middle of the top. And it was much like the sign we had just checked out, only Nook's Cranny was harder to see, there was a bit of cliff in view, and the town hall itself could be seen.

"This seems to be in the middle of everything," Monique said. "You wouldn't have to travel far to get to any spot."

I scratched my head. "Yeah… but as it's in the middle, it's also in a high traffic area. I don't know if I really want that. Everyone would be passing my house by, so I couldn't really get a moment to myself if I wanted that."

"I was thinking that too," Monique said. "I mean, I like attention, but then sometimes you want to be alone."

"Let's head down to the beach spot," I suggested. "I want to see the ocean anyhow."

Several minutes later, we were standing near another white rock that was only a couple of minutes walk to the beach. There were fewer trees here, so there was a magnificent view of the yellow-tan sand beach and the brilliant blue ocean beyond it. We could hear the steady rhythm of the tide and smell the salty air from the water. And it was a little out of the way.

"I'm not too sure about all that water," Monique said, twitching her tail. Then she shivered. "And that sand is sure to be gritty. I don't think I'll live down here."

"I think it's relaxing," I replied. "But I know how you feel. It's okay, but I want to see the other two spots first."

"Can we go check out that big tree? I really want to see it up close."

"I do too. Sure, let's go."

Verdant seems to be about a mile across both ways, as it took us several minutes to walk from the beach up to the giant tree. That including walking up the western ramp and up the hill in the corner as well. From the looks of it, the tree had fully taken over the hill, with roots breaking of the ground there making natural steps and handles. On top of the hill, there was a decent sized flat area, which could still be used as a picnic grounds. But on the edge of the hill, in the very northwest-most corner of town, there was the giant tree.

It had a thick trunk, one that might take a dozen of the animal people holding hands to wrap around it fully. The bark was gnarled and rough, a pale tan color with dark brown markings sprinkled across. And it reached far above our heads with the lowest branch at least three stories high and the higher ones spreading over the town. And into the mists. A small ledge and a wooden fence were all that marked the northwestern border of Verdant. From the hilltop, we could easily see the white mists swirling about outside.

When sitting in the picnic area, though, the exposed roots of the tree did block out some view of the mists. What we were left looking at was a beautiful overview of Verdant. One could see the autumn colored trees all over town, the blue ocean in the distance, the brightly colored roofs of the houses, the elegance of the museum and town hall rooftops, and the giant tree's golden leaves falling across the cloudless sky.

Along with the magnificent view, there was this feeling that seemed to come from the tree. Maybe that was what the cats said they smelled. When I closed my eyes briefly, I had this feeling of life all around me. I'm not sure how to describe it any better. Like the warm hug of someone welcoming you home, or the cries of a newborn child, or the smile of one who'd recently overcome a grave illness. It was calming and exciting, soothing and stirring.

"Ah, look at this!" Monique called.

I opened my eyes to see what she had found. We had come up from the southern side of the hill, but on the eastern side, my friend had found a patch of land that jutted out, like a tiny cliff. And right in the middle of that mini-cliff was one of the keyhole signs. This one gave some tips on catching fish.

Recalling the size of Patty and Deena's houses, I looked over the area. "Whoever lives here will have a magnificent view, but a tiny yard."

"I don't really care about that," Monique said. "But I love this tree, and the view… and this would be the highest house in Verdant, right?"

I laughed. "Indeed, unless somebody puts up a treehouse in that one."

"That's a little too much." Then she smiled. "I want this place. I didn't see any of your white rocks around here, though. Are you okay with that?"

"I'm fine. Besides, it's your decision, and it won't be too hard to come over to visit any time I feel like seeing you."

"Right. Well that decides it!" Monique took out her key and placed it into the keyhole in back. When she turned it, the ground began to glow white. We both got off the glowing area as it started to grow upwards. It grew brighter and fuller, then stayed that was for a full minute. When the glow subsided, Monique's house was there.

It was rather cute, I thought. Made of a wooden frame, it was painted yellow with white trim, and an orange tile roof. The south-facing door had a circular window with crossbars, then an impression of a cat's paw print in the center. Although the yard was indeed tiny, there was a step up to the door, with a mat to clean feet or paws on. From the windows, it appeared to have an attic. There were two items by the door: an orange mailbox and a strange tree-like figure that looked like some primitive carving.

The cat clasped her paws together, purring. "My own house! Let's go check it out." She hopped up to the porch and opened up the door, holding open for me to follow.

Then, the tree figure stirred, twisting its arms about. "Welcome home, Monique!"

I froze. Monique went, "Eep!" and jumped into the door. Grabbing the handle to keep herself upright, she tensely looked at the thing. "What are you?"

It wobbled back and forth. "I apologize for startling you. I am a gyroid, your personal assistant. I have many functions. Here," it made a rose pink book appear at Monique's feet. "This is a guidebook to this realm, including instructions on your home and how to operate the things inside and around it, including myself. I hope it will be very useful."

"Oh, thanks, I guess," she replied, picking up the book. "We'll be going inside then."

"Please, go ahead," the gyroid stated.

Inside… well, it was nearly empty. There were wooden floors and white plaster walls, but no furnishings. The main room was a good size. From there, a door on the right lead to a full bath (done in plain white tiles) and a door on the left lead to a laundry and utilities room (done in gray concrete). Both of those rooms had what one would expect in them: toilet, shower, sink, washer, dryer, mop, broom, bucket, toilet paper, cleaning supplies, and so on.

A stairway next to the entrance led up to the attic, which turned out to be a bedroom. There was a small table, a twin-sized bed (I guess) with orange bedding, a lamp, a small bookshelf, and a plain yellow area rug. Back downstairs, there was a third room on the back wall, which was a kitchen. It was nicely furnished with a stocked fridge and pantry, an oven with a gas stovetop, a microwave, counter space, a dishwasher, and some plain looking appliances.

"I would like it if the main room wasn't so empty," Monique said. "This is so much like a human's house, but it's all mine. I love it!"

"It's a good place to start," I told her with a smile. "I'm sure you can make it charming."

"Oh, I will. Hey, do you want to have lunch here? I feel famished."

"Sure, let's see what we've got."

On looking around, we decided just having sandwiches would be okay. There was some sliced turkey meat, provolone cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, and sandwich spread, along with wheat bread and some cottage cheese on the side. Since there wasn't much furniture, we took the area rug from upstairs and brought it into the main room to sit on, while we put our plates in our laps. It wasn't long before we were chatting and laughing like the old friends we were. Only, now we really could talk to each other, rather than just me speaking and her meowing.

"I really like this realm already," Monique said, wiping her mouth off with a napkin. "Sure, there's lots of stuff I need to learn to do, but that's so much more that I can do. It might be a hassle earning all those Bells to furnish this place, but I think I could make something good with it."

"I'm sure you'll make it your own," I replied.

She nodded, but then her ears twitched. "Nadia? Do you remember how we died? I'm sorry for bringing that up all of a sudden, but it's been bothering me."

I shook my head. "I can't remember it myself. We must have died in the same incident, and I'm sure the one who asked for us to be together was…." My mind suddenly froze up.

"Nadia?" Monique asked again, concerned.

My plate slid towards the floor as I put my hand on my forehead. And I felt a teardrop pass onto my palm. "I had it for a moment, but… I felt a deep loss and sadness. And then my mind blurred it away again."

Her ears tilted downward. "I see. I think I know what you meant, but…"

I put my hands down to get my plate before it dumped over the rug. "Who then, or what?"

She was quiet for a minute, then said, "It would hurt you a lot if I said it. I can tell, my mind and heart have grown more complex, but you have always been this way. If I told you and you remembered…. Well, not now, please Nadia? I'll tell you later, but we're not fully settled into this place yet. I promise I'll tell you when we get the hang of things. Right now, it would be too disruptive."

I felt strange at that. Part of me really wanted to know, as I felt certain there should be some deep sadness in my heart now. But I also wanted to take her advice and put it off for now. Things were changing fast, and I needed to get used to how this place ran. I nodded slowly. "Okay. We'll talk about this later then. That might be why we can't remember what killed us, like it's too soon and we have enough things to deal with in settling in here."

"For now, you can show me how that dishwasher works. And, um," she blushed, "and maybe the bathroom things too…"

I patted her leg. "Sure thing. It might be in that guidebook too."

Several minutes later, we left Monique's house and said goodbye to her gyroid. On our way down the hill, we found Goose. "Hey there, buh-kay," he called, waving a wing. "You got a nice spot, Monique. I thought of taking it, as it would be a workout getting up and down this hill everyday. But the spot I've got now is even better about that."

"I'm sure of it," she replied. "You're all the way out by yourself, away from all the major places. Don't you worry about being left out?"

He shook his head. "No way! I'll just jog on around the lake and meet up with everybody. So where are you living, Nadia?"

"I still haven't figured that out yet," I told him. "We found two spots, marked by those white stones, but I didn't feel right about either of them."

He brightened. "Oh, so that's how the anchor houses are placed? By the white stones?"

I nodded. "Yeah, have you seen any? There's four."

Laughing, Goose hopped up. "I found all four! Let's see, there's the one in the middle of all the shops."

"I don't really like the high traffic area."

"Gotcha. And there's the one near the beach, south of the town hall."

"I might take that one. So where are the other two?"

"One is right by the lake. Cross one of the bridges, then follow the cliff along the lower level and you'll walk right into it. The cliff would be just to the north of you, and the lake just to the southwest."

I thought on it. "By the cliff? The lake might be nice, but would I want to see the cliff every time I looked out the northern windows?"

"It's your choice," Monique said. "So if you wouldn't like it, don't choose it."

"In that case," Goose said, "your last option is on the upper level in the northeast corner. It's closest to the railroad tracks, although not as close as this spot, and you'll have trees to block the noise somewhat. It's, um… now how to describe how to get there…"

I pulled out my map. "Can you point out a spot?"

"Sure, it's roundabouts here," Goose said after a look, pointing to an area near the north and west borders. "There's lots of trees there and the house isn't on the path, so you'll have to look carefully."

"I see." I glanced at my watch. "Well we need to get back to Nook's at one, so we'd best head over there. Thank you, Goose."

"You're welcome! And I've got to get back to finding the best jogging route about town. See you girls later." He continued up to the top of the hill, to look around.

Although we walked by Rodeo's house, he didn't appear to be in at that time. The museum was closed, I guessed because the owls were sleeping. And the police station dogs were busy setting things up, so we just waved to Booker and Copper. Then we had to hunt for that stone.

It was hard to find because the greatest concentration of trees we'd seen yet was in the northeastern area. There were lots of cedar trees especially, lending a warm woodsy smell to the area, but obscuring our view. Sometimes, there was a mass cluster of trees like the bunch that blocked the path near the western bridge. We did find two signs, but it took several minutes to locate the rock.

"It's going to be hard getting in and out of here," Monique said.

"True," I agreed. Then I took a deep breath, smelling the mix of cedar and apples. "But this area is so lovely. This is about what I saw when Rover told me to imagine my yard."

"Maybe it's meant to be your yard, then," she said, chuckling a bit.

"Yeah, this is the place for me." I took my key out of my bag, then placed it into the keyhole of the pseudo-marble rock. As I turned it, the wing symbol turned bright golden, then made the white sparkles appear. I noticed that the footprint of the house was different than Monique's as I hurried to get off it.

As the white glow grew, I felt something odd. The anchor's house had to be chosen by sundown, I recalled. And I was important to the town because I was a part of its foundation. Verdant was safe so long as I always returned home. Turning the key, I realized, firmly set everything into place. The town was now locked into being and could not be destroyed by outside forces so long as I was here. It was like the town was an extension of my imagination.

I wasn't sure why I had thought that just then. As the glow faded, so too did that feeling of connectedness. Or maybe it just settled into the unconscious part of my mind. At any rate, my new house was in front of me.

Even on the outside, we could tell it was smaller than Monique's. It had a simple stained oak siding, white trim, and a green shingled roof. It did not seem to have an attic. In front of my house, there was a small stone patio made of various colored river stones. By my door, there was a Gyroid as well as a plain black mailbox. My gyroid twisted about. "Welcome home, Nadia!"

"Hello, gyroid," I said.

"I am your personal assistant. Here is the guidebook for you in this realm." It made a different sunny yellow book appear, thicker than the pink one Monique had received. "Things are humble now, but you can make them better."

"I'm sure." I took the handle and opened it, getting a creak in response. "Come on in, Monique."

"Oh my," she said, getting a look inside.

Humble was a nice way to put it. The main room was quite small, half the size of hers. On the other hand, the ceiling was tall, with exposed beams. But that may have been the only nice thing about it. The wood paneling on the wall looked dingy while the stone flooring looked dark. I had some furnishing in the room, but that was just a rickety looking bed with weird pea green bedding, a candle in a brass holder, an orange box thing (that was being used as a table for the candle), and a plain gray tape deck radio.

The bathroom had just a shower stall with a plastic curtain, a toilet, a chipped mirror, and a sink with exposed plumbing. The laundry room was tiny, with an equally small washer (no dryer) and a wooden shelf with various household supplies. And in back, the kitchen was crowded; it would be hard for even a single person to work in there.

"If you're so important, why are they starting you out like this?" Monique asked. "It's mean."

"It's all about responsibility," I told her. "They want to encourage anchors to be responsible. Starting out like this encourages you to work for better things, both for yourself and the town. That's what I would guess. Tom said something like that to me when we saw his apartment."

"Huh. Well I hope this is warm enough for when winter sets in. And you'll be welcome over at my place any time you really want to relax." She smiled and curled her tail slowly.

I smiled to her. "Thanks."

After setting my guidebook on the bed, we headed back to the store to help Nook some more. And he had a load of work for us to do. We had to write notices of the store opening to every villager in Verdant, including each other. As it turned out, many of the older residents had used the tanuki stores to send their more valuable furniture instead of packing it with them. Monique and I had to deliver all those furnishings ourselves. Then he had us write an ad for his business on the town's bulletin boards. I don't think he really needed the ad, so that may have just been to show us how such notices could be made.

It wasn't all bad, though. The animals I delivered to gave me things in exchange for the deliveries; Monique got the same treatment. Apparently, such exchanges for assistance are commonplace, so I'll want to get used to keeping such things on me as rewards or trades. I ended up with a blue-trim wallpaper, a batbrella, a cube clock, and a glass top table. And I did learn more about how things worked here in Animal Crossing.

At the end of the day, Tom Nook thanked us for all our hard work, then offered to take three thousand Bells each off our home debts. "So that puts Nadia's debt at sixteen thousand five hundred Bells, and Monique's debt at ninety-seven thousand Bells."

"Ninety-seven thousand?" the cat asked, a little shocked. "Um, how do I pay that off?"

"Don't worry, you don't have to pay it all off at once," Tom said, smiling reassuringly. "In order to make payments, go to the post office desk at the town hall and ask to pay off your debt. You can do it little bits at a time, like a thousand a week if you want. I think that's… oh, wait, something's totally slipped my mind." He shook his head, seeming embarrassed. "Monique, part of your debt is actually an allowance for you to order furnishings for your main room. The anchor has to make due with what he or she's been given, but you have the freedom to pick some pieces out right away."

"Oh really?" she asked.

"That makes more sense out of her debt's price tag," I commented.

"Yes indeed. Come over here." He led us to the register, where he pulled out a very large book. Grunting as he put it on the counter, he opened it for us. "This is the store's catalog. It personalizes itself to every customer. It won't give our full line yet, but it should sense what items you would like and offer them to you. You have twenty-five thousand Bells for the initial budget. I'm afraid the things won't arrive until tomorrow, but I'll get some assistance to bring your goods to your place."

"I can wait," she said, putting her paw on the catalog. It shimmered, then began showing various pieces of furniture. "Oh wow… some of these are so nice."

"Can she get some carpeting and wallpaper too?" I asked, glancing over the things, like a lovely table and pink box.

Tom nodded. "Of course, of course. Just touch the appropriate tabs here. This box in the corner here will keep tabs of your total cost."

Monique seemed most interested in the items labeled 'lovely'. Tom explained that they were part of a series, but not the whole series was available to her. After a while of picking things out, she reached her budget limit and had to stop.

"In that case, you're both free to do what you like now," Tom said. "Thank you again for helping me set up shop. And be sure to drop by tomorrow for my grand opening! It's going to be great!"

I smiled at his enthusiasm. "You're welcome. See you tomorrow then."

"See you later, pffffft," Monique echoed. As the wooden door shut behind us, she sighed. "Phew, I'm glad that's done with. But I am so tired, and my feet ache. I'm going home to wash up and get some sleep."

I nodded, feeling worn out myself. "Right, sounds like a good idea. Good night, Monique." I patted her shoulder.

She decided to hug me. "Good night Nadia."

* * *

_This first week goes by a bit slow, especially the first day. There are a lot of concepts and characters to run through and even though most people poking around the AC section should know the basics, I like to pretend that someone unfamiliar with the series has dropped by. Eventually I will get to skipping days and such so it doesn't get repetitive._

_Some people are just really mean to Tom Nook, twisting him into a villain character. But he's actually a good example of a flawed character in that he's basically good, wanting to help the player out, but has his focus on money more than he probably should. Which means he fits this setting well, even as a 'native' soul.  
_


	5. Tuning in to Town

**Chapter 5: Tuning in to Town Life**

Tuesday, December 2

I woke up to rain on my rooftop. The steady drone of it was soothing and I nearly fell back asleep. But then I wondered why it was so noisy. There should be an attic between my bedroom and the roof. When I opened my eyes, I saw the tiny room I was in, the blue wallpaper with the dark stone floor, the glass coffeetable with a snuffed out candle, a clock that said '6:54', and a book… where was I? This didn't seem like my room.

Then I recalled, right, this is my new but tiny house. And since there was no attic, there was nothing to block out the sound of the rain. I sat up and tried to look out the window, but it was a dim blur of water, brown, and green. Rather heavy rain for the morning. At any rate, I was awake. I had slept in my work clothes, since I didn't mind them getting wrinkly. But all I had otherwise was that pink daisy dress. I'd have to address that later, I decided.

For the meantime, I turned on the radio and went to prepare my breakfast. The tape deck radio puzzled me until I realized that there was just one station to tune in to. And that show was all chatter, talking about something called the Stalk Market. It sounded like Wall Street news, so it didn't really interest me. But it was some other sound than the rain to accompany my morning.

After having a bowl of cereal (something like but not quite Raisin Bran) and my morning washing up, the radio chatter finally changed subjects. "And now it's time for the daily news report," the DJ said. "Here is the weather for your area."

Then it switched over to a computer-like voice that was inoffensive, but bland. "Weather for the town of Verdant will be rainy for the rest of this morning, than cloudy throughout the afternoon. Rain will return after nightfall and continue through Wednesday, clearing up by Thursday mid-morning. Temperatures will remain fairly steady with highs in the upper 50s in the daytime with lows in the lower 40s in the nighttime. While the river current will be fast, no flooding or problems are expected."

I walked back into the main room and glanced at the clock. 7:33. That would be something to remember, when the radio played the weather.

Then the radio changed over to the news. "The biggest story in Animal Crossing today is the establishment of a new town, Verdant in the Chime City district. It has been a long time since Chime City has gained a new township, even though it has lost two in the past year. But that isn't what is so unique about this town. No, something completely unexpected has happened in the past week: a human has managed to get into our realm and was confirmed by Rover to be a new anchor.

"This has caused a lot of controversy and surprise among the many communities of Animal Crossing. Some are saying that a human should have never been allowed to enter this realm, especially not in such a vital role as an anchor. Others are concerned about the security of the realm against the outer mists if a human has managed to find her way here. Yet others are trusting in Rover's judgment, saying that she could not have entered if she did not deserve to.

"We here at ACRN have not managed to get word directly from Rover, but a statement released by Central says that the human Nadia is qualified to act as an anchor for Animal Crossing and that they will observe her first year of service to see if we should let her stay or find a way to remove her. ACRN will certainly be sending in a reporter to Verdant as soon as we can to look into the situation."

So I'd have to deal with reporters now too. I wondered for a bit why, but then recalled all my new neighbors. Right, I was the minority faction here. But these animals were all people, so I should respect them.

Well it was going to rain all morning, it seemed like. For some time, I picked the guidebook back up while letting the radio play. But close to nine o'clock, I began to feel restless. Maybe I ought to go explore town some more. I had nothing planned for today anyhow and there wasn't much to do in my house. Thinking that I would thank Deena again for thinking to give me an umbrella, I pulled the batbrella out of my bag and proceeded to head outdoors. With my house key secured to my bag and that hanging off my shoulder, I felt that I was as prepared as I could be.

"Good morning, Nadia," my gyroid said as I walked out the door.

"Good morning," I said, bringing the umbrella out to open it. It was shaped like a regular umbrella, but was black with a bat cut-out trim. "Do you have a name or do I just keep calling you Gyroid?"

"I do not require a name," it replied. "I will make sure your home remains secure. Is there anything I should say to visitors?"

"Um… Say that I'm sorry not to meet them, but I'm out walking around."

"Will do," the Gyroid replied. "Take care, especially on the slopes."

The grounds around my house were getting muddy, but I soon discovered that the dirt paths were still solid. Maybe they had gravel or something underneath to keep them from getting soaked. It was brisk, but I couldn't manage more than long sleeves and medium weight on my daisy shirt. As long as I didn't let any of the cold raindrops past my umbrella, I'd be okay. But the moment I got my clothes damp, I'd want to go right back inside.

I came to the open meadow in front of the train station and wondered what to do now. I could check out Nook's store, or the tailor's shop. But, I had no bells and I had a debt. The guidebook had some tips on earning bells, but those required tools, or asking others for work.

Right about then, I saw a dark bull walk into the area. Smiling, I waved to him. "Good morning, Rodeo!"

He brightened and tipped his yellow umbrella to me. "Good morning, Nadia! Well, good except for this cold rain."

I walked over to him, as the rain was a bit noisy. "It should clear up later. What are you doing this morning?"

Yawning, he patted his bag. "Oh, excuse me, chaps. I thought about sleeping in today, what with the rain, but then I thought I'd better run own to Nook's place early to grab some flower seeds before he sold out. Tom's got a tiny place, you know."

"Right. So you like gardening?"

Rodeo grinned. "Love it. But my last town was so rocky, and the others didn't appreciate the flowers so much. If you walk carefully, you don't hurt them, but running and trampling them can kill them. This town has some nice dirt to it, so I think I can get the best garden I've ever had here."

"Great, well good luck. If that giant tree is any indication, this place should be good for plants."

"You know it." Then he paused, eyes widening. "Hey, what if… chaps, do you think my flowers could grow to be so enormous? That would be amazing… but kind of scary. So what are you doing now?"

I giggled at the idea of enormous flowers, but then put that off to answer his question. "Me? Well, I need to find a way to get some income. But I don't have any tools, or much to sell."

He put a hoof to his chin. "Oh right, you are new. It's tough starting out. Well you could shake some trees and sell the apples that fall. They'll grow back in a few days, so that's always a steady income. But of course, fruits other than apples would sell better, if you could get your hands on some."

"Apples grow back that fast? Even though winter is approaching?"

"Now that you mention it, it is a bit odd." The bull smiled. "I mean, the trees are like naked, but still producing fruit. I couldn't do any work if I was caught outside with no clothes."

"Yeah, especially not in this kind of weather."

"Hey, you could also go down to the beach and gather seashells to sell. Sometimes you can get a bit more than selling regular fruits if you find really nice shells. The Nook stores will buy just about anything, except for trash items. Or… hey, is that a white pansy you have?"

I touched my barrette. "This? Yeah, the mayor gave it to me yesterday."

"It's a nice one. I could only find cosmos at the store today. Would you mind trading it for my ranch wallpaper? That should sell for more than the flower, and I didn't want to take the flowers at the store… please?"

I considered it. I was just using it as an accessory after all. So I nodded and pulled it out of my hair. "That works for me. Here you go." I turned it back into an item leaf and handed it to him.

"Great, thanks!" He put the flower away in his black bag, then pulled out a different item. This one appeared to be a rolled up tube of green and yellow stripes. But my blue-trim wallpaper had looked the same exact way. "It helps us both out, so good deal. I'm going to go work on my garden. See you around."

"See you." I waved as he headed off to his home on the other side of the river.

Then I opened up my bag to add the wallpaper. There was also a roll of the wood paneling wallpaper and the orange box that had originally been in my house. Those plus some shells could get me the starting funds I needed to get tools and a change of clothes. Since that seemed like a good plan, I headed down to the beach.

I didn't get quite that far, as a voice called out to me near Nook's shop. "Oh, Nadia, could I get your help?"

I turned and saw Monique with a pretty white parasol with pink ribbons. "Sure thing, Monique. What's the trouble?"

Doing her best to stay under the smaller umbrella, she said, "Well I got my things in this morning, but I couldn't take everything in one trip even as leaves. If you could just get the two other items, that would be great."

"Sure thing. I should have space in my bag for two items."

We went into Nook's Cranny, once I wiped my shoes on the rough pavement. Leaving our umbrellas outside, we dodged the falloff from the metal roof to get in the wooden door. Even though we had cleaned it yesterday, the store still gave off a dusty appearance. And the rain was really loud falling against the metal.

Still, Tom greeted us with a smile. "Hello again, Monique, and good morning, Nadia. Welcome to my store's first day of business. How may I help you ladies?"

"We came back for the last couple of items of mine," the cat said. "Nadia will take them."

"Certainly. Let me go get them."

"Oh, but could I sell a few of my things first?" I asked. "I know her things will be wrapped, but this is what I came to do anyhow."

"Sure enough." He pulled two item leaves out of a sealed box, but placed them near the register. "What do you have?"

"These three items," I said, handing him the wood paneling wallpaper, the ranch wallpaper, and the orange box.

"Okay, let me see…" he took those leaves and scanned the tags in the register. "That's 717 bells credited to your wallet. Will you sell for that price?"

I wasn't sure what was fair, but it seemed good. "Yes."

"Okay then." He pressed a button on the register to make a 'ker-chink' noise. "If you check with your watch, you'll see it credited on the wallet screen."

"My watch?" I looked at it, then pressed a button twice as he suggested. The screen shifted from time to the date, then to the wallet screen. It showed that I had 717 bells currently. "Ah, I see. Do you not use material currency here?"

"It's based on material currency," Tom said. "But you don't often see it in material form. Don't worry, it's very solid and we don't have to worry about a bell's value suddenly dropping. And here's Monique's items."

I took the two leaves, putting them in my bag. "I see. Well that's good, I never really understood economics."

"Please come again," Tom said as we left the store.

As we walked back to her place, I asked Monique where she had gotten such a pretty umbrella. She told me that there had been a rather ugly brown umbrella in her laundry room that she found 'revolting', but she used that to go harvest some apples and sell them to Tom. When she did, he asked her to come back in fifteen minutes, as her things would be ready. To spend the time, she went to check out the tailor's shop, where they had the ribbon parasol up for sale. It took all of the apple money and trading in the brown umbrella, but she managed to afford it.

"It just fits my look so perfectly," she said. "All dainty and elegant. But the other one was larger."

"Some people sacrifice a lot for style," I commented.

Monique smiled. "I might be one of those people, you know."

We spent the next hour or so arranging her things. I could partly recall back in reality when putting up new wallpaper or carpeting took hours and lots of hard work. Here, it was much simpler and faster. You turn the room's appearance in your mind, and it's done. But it doesn't change if you're looking directly at the wall or floor. I'm not sure how it works, but if you blink, it's changed. If you stare, it does nothing until you blink.

Most of the time was spent figuring out how to make her main room look best. She had a long white table with a pink cloth draped over it that we placed in front of a large overstuffed pink couch. Then there was a pink dresser, a white radio, and a standing lamp with a pink beaded shade. I thought the pink and white was a bit much myself, but Monique seemed pleased. I didn't bug her about it.

As I was getting ready to leave, she came down from her attic bedroom. "Oh, before you go, I have to thank you. Here, I got a lovely bed too, so take my basic bed with its bedding." She handed me an item leaf and what seemed to be a square of white cloth. "I got worried last night thinking about you in that rickety old bed, like it might come apart while you were sleeping."

"Oh, thanks, that is much better. And it was no trouble helping you."

I said goodbye to Monique, then went back to my place to switch out the bed and bedding. Might as well sell the old things, although I didn't think I'd get much out of them. Then I went back to my original plan, walking along the beach for shells to sell.

Walking along the beach in the rain was a new experience. I knew that even though I didn't recall much at any single time. Overhead, the sky was bright yet gray, spilling tiny water droplets everywhere. It blurred the air, making it hard to see far out. The sand shifted underneath my feet, getting packed yet squishy as the water soaked it through. And by my side, the tides came in frothy and regular, lapping the land with a noisy slosh that joined in with the splatter of rain on its surface and the patter of rain on my umbrella. Finding the shells wasn't too hard, as they peeked out of the sand quite often. After rinsing them out in the surf, I placed them in my bag. It seemed they couldn't turn into leaves like other items.

I found Pike as I was thinking of heading back. He was fishing in the ocean, focused intently on the water. Quiet, I looked out as saw a small red bobber in the waves, creeping up to shore with the tides. Then, it vanished underwater with a plunk. Pike yanked the rod back and came up with a large green fish that had many black spots.

"Nice catch," I called.

The ferret tensed, then snorted. "This thing? Sea bass are junk fish. They don't sell for much, they seem like they'd be more valuable fish, and they're all over the place. About the only thing they're good for is cooking." He turned the sea bass into a thing that seemed like a fish-shaped keyring before putting it in his bag. "Speaking of common, see that?"

I looked where he was pointing and saw an odd plant. It was tall and green, sort of like fuzzy grass. "That piece of grass?"

"It's a weed, harrumph," he stated. "Weeds are like sea bass, except you can't even sell weeds. They're ugly and they're a much bigger nuisance. You might see one today, but then see ten tomorrow, and then have them all over town by the end of the week. But you can at least get rid of them easily." He grabbed the weed and pulled it out of the ground. Strangely enough, it vanished in his hands.

"The guidebook did mention them," I said. "But thanks for showing me what it actually looks like."

That seemed to annoy him somehow. "Well since I'm living here, Verdant is my town too. So I'd better not catch you slacking off. What are you doing here anyhow?"

"Picking up shells to sell," I told him. "I don't have much money and I need some things."

"Focused on your fortune already?" he sneered.

Maybe he was the kind of person who liked to pick fights. But he couldn't be all bad. I kept calm, as that seemed to be the best way to deal with him. "I did start from barely anything and no bells. I can't do much until I do get some income."

"Hmph. Don't go looking for handouts from me." Then he went to find another spot to fish.

Some people were just harder to make friends with. At any rate, I went back to the store to sell my things. I must have gotten lucky with the shells, as I came up with a nice amount of money. Tom had a shovel and a net on sale for five hundred bells each, so I bought both of them. With the money I had left over, I went down to the tailor's shop.

The shop was larger than Nook's place, and much more inviting. The lighting was better, for one thing. For another, there were pretty curtains on the windows and a clean tile floor. I was greeted by a blue furred hedgehog who was dressed in a pretty yellow shirt and a red gingham apron. "Hello, and welcome to the Able Sisters' Shop," she said cheerily. Then she looked curious for a second before coming over to me. "My, you're a curious creature. I haven't seen your like before."

"That's Nadia the human," I heard Sable's voice from over a sewing machine. She was hard at work, making some kind of clothing.

"Oh my, really?" She blushed. "I'm sorry. I'm Mabel Able. It's good to meet you Nadia."

I smiled and shook her paw. "Good to meet you too Mabel. And good morning Sable."

"Morning," she replied simply. "Sorry, but I have work to do."

"That's my sister for you," Mabel said with pride. "So, may I help you with anything? We've got some umbrellas still in stock if you want a new one."

"Mine's fine, thank you. Actually, I came looking for some new clothes, and maybe a jacket. I can't seem to get this shirt quite warm enough."

"I see. Mind if I check?" When I let her, Mabel took the sleeve of my garment and examined it. "Hmm, this is a daisy shirt, which can come in sweater form. But, this isn't the right material for that; you could make a light jacket or a t-shirt out of it too, but that's it. We normally don't sell this fabric in clothing this time of year; it's a mid-spring to summer sort. But we do have some nice fall fashions left, so come take a look."

Now while it was bigger than Nook's Cranny, it made me think it was small for a clothing store. Perhaps because there weren't as many people living in Verdant. There was quite a variety, although nothing really jumped out at me. There was a seven-ball shirt, which Mabel said was popular with the guys and there was a unisex tuxedo. There were three colors of pants, black, green, and blue jean.

And there was an interesting striped shirt of red, green, and white. But it didn't seem overtly seasonal to me. "This looks nice," I said.

"Doesn't it? This is a gelato shirt in heavy materials. It can go the same thickness as your daisy shirt is now to a thick winter sweater. You can even get an umbrella and woven hat to match… um, Sis, do we have either the gelato umbrella or hat in?"

"You'd know better than I," Sable replied. "But I can make those items if you want, Nadia."

"That would be nice to have," I said. "I think I'll order those both."

Sable nodded and paused in her sewing to add to a list. "I'm afraid it'll take four days to get them ready, as I make all our items by hand."

"Really?" I asked, impressed. "That's wonderful, Sable, thank you. I can wait for that."

"It's what I do," she said, blushing a bit as she turned back to her work.

Mabel smiled. "Right, you can be sure everything is made to high standards here. But, this gelato shirt can't be turned into a dress. I think the jeans would look nice with them, though."

"Sure. How much will this be?"

"The shirt is 330, and the jeans are 200, so 530 bells total. You can pay for the other two items when you pick them up on Saturday."

I had enough money to cover for that, so I paid for the new outfit and changed in their changing room before going back outside. The warmer gelato shirt was nice and it was good to know that one design could have multiple functions.

* * *

Wednesday, December 3

Wednesday was all rainy and gray, but it turned to my advantage in a way. Tom Nook had a fishing pole on sale, so I bought that. From what I'd heard, it would be a very useful item. Not only were fish good for food, but they could be donated to the museum or sold to Nook for money. And fish were easier to catch in the rain, at least according to Patty.

"I think it makes them happy or something," she said as me, her, and Deena fished on the beach. "So they all come out, and you can even get rare fish more often."

"I sometimes think it makes them scared," the duck offered. "I mean, they live in water, but to have all those droplets hitting the surface, it's got to be noisy in there."

"More noisy than up here?" Patty asked.

"I wouldn't know that," she admitted. "Oh, Nadia!"

"I got it," I said, pulling my line out of the water. On the other end of my line, there was a wiggling black and white striped fish with tough fins. "All right, a barred knifejaw."

"We're on a roll, girls," Patty cheered. "You find those so much easier in the summertime, but here we've caught two in December!"

"I'll donate mine to the museum, sugarbill," Deena offered, shifting her umbrella to adjust her fishing pole. "Knifejaws are worth good money and you could use that more."

After fishing for most of the afternoon, we left to go visit the museum. It was a grand building, made of white concrete with tall columns and a classical façade. Inside, the lobby had glossy blue-green and white tiles on the floor, a lofty ceiling, and a grand old clock in back. Roaming around in back was a brown owl who wore a checkered vest and leather shoes. He turned to us and waved a wing. "Good afternoon, ladies, and welcome to the Verdant Musuem! Hoo, I believe I've only met one of you, though. I'm Blathers, the museum curator." He bowed.

"Good afternoon," I replied. "I'm Nadia."

"And I'm Patty," the cow said.

Balthers nodded. "Right, and you were Deena, now."

The duck rubbed her head wither wing. "Sure thing, sugarbill. Um, we came to make some donations."

"Oh, how marvelous! What do you have for us today?" The owl was beaming, clearly excited about his job.

"Mostly fish," she replied, bringing out her knifejaw.

"Oh, a barred knifejaw." Blathers turned it into a fish in an aquarium. "And a lovely specimen she is. You've done quite well to catch her in this off season. Thank you for your generosity."

"It's no trouble," Deena said. "And we've got some others, more common ones though."

"Hoo, that's fine," he reassured us. "It will be good to have a complete collection and besides, all kinds of fish, even the most common run-of-the-mill ones, have a place in the grand scheme of things."

Deena and Patty were the ones who contributed, as I was reserving mine to pay off my house debt. There was a horse mackerel, a sea bass, a red snapper, a dab, a squid, and a sea butterfly. At the end of it, he said that they would go into the giant aquariums that made up the fish exhibit.

"What exhibits do you have going on here?" Patty asked.

"I'm afraid we don't have much to see yet," Blathers admitted. "But we have lots of space for many different things. There's the fish and bug exhibits, as usual. We also have a fossil exhibit, which I'm very excited about. My sister Celeste is running the observatory upstairs, although it's still early to be star-gazing. And over here, we have a photo gallery."

"A photo gallery?" Deena asked. "That's different. I don't remember anything like that in other towns."

"Hoo yes, it is a test exhibit, but should be very exciting. All you need to get for it is a camera, and then take pictures around our town, or anywhere else you please. If you get a great photo, we'll display it here with your name beside it. I believe I'm going to let Celeste handle the photo gallery, though, as I'm not much of a judge of art."

"That sounds so cool," Patty said, looking so happy that you'd think flowers were circling her head. "If you get a great photo in here, then everyone will see how good you are with a camera."

"That's the spirit!" Blathers said.

"What's downstairs?" I asked, noticing a doorway that he hadn't explained yet.

He rubbed his beak. "Ah yes, that… it seems to be a coffeeshop, but there's no one there to run it yet. I don't dare try my wings at that. Although, I knew a guy in my college years who was amazing at brewing. I've considered writing him a letter and saying the shop is open for someone to take."

"Rover said he knew someone too, but didn't mention anything else about that person," I suggested. "Maybe give it a week or so before you contact your old friend."

"Right, that sounds good. And I'd trust Rover. I mean, that cat knows so many folks in Animal Crossing that I'm constantly amazed that he keeps everyone straight."

"Can we go check it out?" Patty asked.

Blathers nodded. "Sure, but if you make a mess, be sure to clean it up."

The three of us went downstairs to see the coffeeshop for ourselves. On turning on the lights, I instantly liked the place. The wood paneling and hidden lights gave it a warm cozy feel even though it was a decent sized joint. There was a bar area with several stools, behind which were some empty cabinets and a refrigerator. Then there were several small tables with comfortable chairs scattered about, where they could easily be moved into separate areas or one grouping. And off in the corner, there was a raised stage with a speaker system, a stand microphone, an upright piano, and a couple of stools. A closet just by this area hinted that there may be more supplies.

"This place looks nice," Deena said, hopping onto one of the bar stools. "It'd make for a great hangout spot."

"It could be such fun!" Patty called out, going over to the stage. "Hey, can either of you play the piano?"

"I can if there's sheet music," I offered. I went over to the bench and noticed it was a hinged model. Lifting it up, I spotted various music books inside. "I wonder if it's working."

"Go ahead and try it," Patty said. Deena got off the stool and came over too.

"Okay, then…" I pulled out one that said 'Party Songs' and shut the bench back up so I could sit on it. Opening the book up, the first song seemed like a good start. I took the cover off the keys, then started playing.

"Oh, I know this song!" Patty said, then started singing along. The room had a good sound, at least from what I could tell. And the piano was good too; all the notes were clear and correct.

Deena clapped her wings when we stopped. "That was great! And it livens the room right up. This would be a great place for a show, or a party."

"So why don't we have a party here?" Patty said. "Oh, that would be such fun! We could invite everyone in town to bring any instruments, or just show up to sing and dance. And everybody could bring snack foods and decorations… a fun night for everybody!"

"That sounds great," I said, smiling. "Not too soon, though. How about Saturday evening? Everyone ought to be settled in by then and we'd all have time to prepare things."

"Sure," Deena said. "We'll be sure to tell everybody, right, Patty?"

"Right, Deena!"

An hour later, I was at the town hall with the funds I had made off fishing. I was humming a bit, actually, as I had enough to pay off my house loan. I tapped my batbrella against the door frame, to shake the excess water off it. "Good evening, Pelly!"

The white pelican girl laughed. "Oh. Good evening, Nadia! How're you doing?"

"Great. And you?"

"Pretty good," she replied. "Although something puzzles me some…"

I came over and put my arms on the counter. "What?'

She pointed her wing to the west side of the town hall. "Well see that door over there? It leads to a library."

Glancing over, I only saw a shut door. "A library, huh? That's a nice thing to have."

"Yes, but the trouble is, we're not sure how to run it. Tortimer's been watching over it a few hours a day, but he has a number of things to do as mayor. And my sister and I have keys to the room, but we're usually busy with the desk…" her eyes widened, then she blushed. "Oh my, sorry, I didn't mean to take up your time with idle chatter."

I shrugged. "It's okay, I'm not in a hurry. I did have some business, as I'd like to pay off my home loan."

She nodded and brought up a file. "Of course, your debt to Nook… your balance is fifteen thousand bells. How much would you like to pay?"

Putting my watch on the counter, I brought up the wallet screen. "I'll pay the whole thing off now. I had a good day at fishing."

Pelly chuckled. "Sure sounds like it. Okay then, I'll make the transfer promptly… and you're done, you've fully paid off the house loan! Is there anything else I can do for you?"

"Yeah, I've got some extra money and I'd like to start up a savings account with that." It took a few minutes to do that, but I put the other seven thousand I'd earned into that account. Apparently the watch could only track a certain amount of money. I was far from that limit, but I felt it was better to start some savings to have something to fall back on.

I went back to Tom's store and found out that the loan payment had already gone through. "Good work on paying off your loan so promptly," he said. "I figured that's what you were planning to do with your fish windfall today."

"Exactly that." This wasn't so bad, I thought, as some honest work, even just in fishing, was well rewarded.

"And since you've paid off this loan, I supposed you'd like to expand your house some," he said. "I can make all the rooms you have a little bigger, and make the side rooms nicer as well. It will cost you, in a bigger loan than before, but do you want to expand?"

I nodded. "Sure, that'd be great. I don't have much, but anything more and my house will really feel cramped."

He chuckled. "Right. So there's some options you have now. Let me get the book." Tom led me over to the register and pulled out a small catalog. "We can change the paint on your roof; what color would you like?"

Looking at the options, I pointed out a forest green. "That one, I'll try that."

"Oh, that would look nice. Now, your bathroom… there's a few basic styles that can be applied to it, as well as the laundry room and kitchen. The roof paint and the basic styles I offer for free, but if my store gets to a decent size, I can offer more styles for fair prices." Then he smiled. "And one more thing. My shop will be closed down for tomorrow. I've already gotten clearance to upgrade the store too. Your house renovation will be completed while you sleep, but the store renovation takes a full day."

"I see. But it'll be worth it for both of us, right?"

Tom nodded. "Right, it'll be great!"

* * *

_On recent replays, I've managed to pay off my house loan and upgrade Nook's shop at the same time for the first couple of times. It's a little annoying._

_This Rodeo is partly based off another character, Ferdinand the Bull in the children's book. I can't recall the title, but it might just be his name. Monique is sort of based on one of my own cats, hehe. I do take their basic personalities into consideration, though. I have my reasons for making the Grumpy neighbor Pike an original character... well other than a ferret would make for a nifty neighbor animal._

_Anything else to comment on... most things I'm just expanding on their game incarnations, like the radio network and the photo gallery. Well, I will admit that the paintings are a pain to collect if you're not an avid online trader. And someone did ask for a particular neighbor. I may accept that kind of thing, as I mean to move people in and out over time. I've got the next two planned, though.  
_


	6. Troublesome Trees

**Chapter 6: Troublesome Trees**

Friday, December 5

Thursday was a regular day, I suppose, which I spent figuring out how to cook again, checking the town over for weeds (they did grow as fast as Pike suggested), digging up fossils, and chatting with my neighbors. I had around six fossils by then, but they were nothing more than blue rocks with unidentifiable bones in them. But on giving them over to Blathers, the owl identified them as various dinosaurs, like a stegosaurus tail and a plesiosaurus skull. I did end up with two ambers, so he gave me one to do with as I liked. However, it could only be made into a display pedestal, and I didn't really want it hanging around the house.

On Friday, I got up at dawn, as usual. But after my usual waking and preparing routine, I stepped outside and saw that my mailbox's flag was up. "I thought mail didn't come until 9," I said. I was expecting a few letters, as I had written several yesterday.

"Some things come in at other times," my gyroid said. "Those came at 6. Those are usually special mailings."

"I see." I pulled out the two envelopes and brought them inside to read. One was from Tom Nook, announcing the opening of Nook'n'Go.

The other did not have a name, but it did have a blue cat paw print where the sender's name should have been. The letter inside said,

'Dear Nadia,

Hey, how are things shaking down in Verdant? Watch yourself, cause the media reporters are due to show up today. They can be a hassle, but treat them nicely. You don't want bad things broadcast about you or your town, right?

Remember how I said I knew a guy who could run a coffeeshop? After I got in contact with him, he agreed to move in. I'll be dropping him off around 5 PM on 12/5, so come by to meet him if you like.

Sent with a purr and a smile,

Rover'

* * *

By 9 in the morning, the rain had finally moved on. There were still puddles and muddy spots all around, but the sun was slowly drying them out. After walking around town, I arrived at Nook'n'Go. The outside was much better looking, although kind of tacky. There was a large sign that appeared as though it would glow at night and the front wall was entirely made of windows. On seeing it, it made me think of the little gas station stops in the real world. Except, there seemed to be no reason to buy gas here.

Inside, I saw Tom talking with Patty. He now had a striped green and white uniform, which looked nicer than his apron uniform, but a bit tacky like the rest. The floors were black and white tiles and the whole room was well lit. While the store itself was larger, it still had a crowded feel as more things were up for sale.

Tom waved to me. "Good morning, Nadia, and welcome to Nook'n'Go."

"Good morning, Tom, Patty."

"Morning," the cow said cheerily. "Excuse me, but I've got things to do." She left the store in a good mood.

"So how's your house looking?" the tanuki asked me.

"It's much nicer now," I told him. I still lacked a separate bedroom, but the rooms were all larger as well as looking less run-down.

"Yes, I'm sure things are more comfortable. As for the bill, this renovation costs 48 thousand. Just pay it off in the same way as before, as you can afford it."

That didn't sound too bad, so I agreed to that. Then I looked around the shop to see if there was anything interesting on sale. The main thing that I noticed was an axe. "Oh, you've finally got one of these in."

He nodded. "Yes, the axe. It's 500 bells; would you like to buy it?"

Checking my watch, I nodded. "All right, I'll take it."

"Good. Be careful with it as the edge is very sharp. It will dull with use, and eventually break, but it takes a great many uses to do that. Also, if you are going to cut down trees, make sure to dig out the stumps with your shovel, and consider buying saplings to replace the ones you take out."

He had two saplings on sale, one of which was a cedar. He warned me that that one would only grow on the upper level of town. Still, I took both and headed out to clear some trees. The ones I wanted to deal with first were the set at the bottom of the eastern ramp. They were right in the main walkway to get around town.

I looked over the eight of them. Three were in a diagonal line, with one end having two sticking out and the other end with just one out of line. Like a badly made capitol J, I figured. Now I had to decide which ones to go.

I decided on taking out the three in the center, so there was a clear and wide path from the ramp to the bridge. With my new axe in hand, I swung at the center tree. Although it hit with a solid thunk, I didn't see anything chip or crack. I struck it again, with the same result. The leaves were rustling when I did so, but where was the visible damage? I hit it a third time.

That finally did the trick. The tree toppled over away from me with an immaculately clean cut. Not just that, but the major part of the tree just vanished when it hit the ground. The stump was the only proof that it had ever been there. And these were the trees that grew up in less than a week? The ones Monique and I had planted on the first were already mature and filled with browning leaves.

Well, that was one less task in this chore. Taking out my shovel, I gave digging the stump out a try. If it was felled that easily, the stump shouldn't be an issue. I was right; within seconds, there was only a hole in the ground, and I easily filled that back with dirt. One tree down.

The second tree came down just as easily. The third tree, though… once I hit it for the first time, I saw something dark fall out the other side. I paused, wondering what it was. I heard a mass of buzzing, and then a swarm of bees was right in my face. Startled, I screamed and tired to scare them off. They did leave, but my face was already in pain, starting to swell.

"What's the matter?" I heard someone call out. I put my hand over the swollen part of my face and stepped around the tree to see who was crossing the bridge. It was Deena. On seeing me, she got worried and ran over. "Oh dear! You got stung by bees, huh?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I was trying to clear these trees."

The duck dug into her bag, then pulled out a paper bag. "Here, put this medicine over our face. That should help greatly."

"Oh, thank you." I did as she instructed. Inside the bag, there was a jelly-like substance that smelled sharp and bitter. Although it stung initially, the cool jelly did dull the pain away and stopped the swelling so that I could see out of both eyes. Recalling seeing it in the store, I tapped my watch. "Here, I'll give you the bells to cover for it."

"That works," she said, checking on her own watch to accept it. Her's was a much more feminine white model. "I like to keep some on hand, especially when doing something possibly dangerous like clearing trees. But it's a good thing you're doing that here."

"What's going on?" Patty called, crossing the bridge.

"Oh, Nadia got stung by bees," Deena said. "She was cutting trees down."

She smiled. "Ah, you have to be careful doing that. Shake the tree first and if a beehive drops, run for the nearest building. Or dive into the river, if you don't mind getting soaked. Still, that's better than getting stung, how now."

"I see," I replied. "I'd better get back to the job. I'm just not sure what to do about the ones on the ends. Some of them have apples."

"Well if you don't mind more work, sugarbill," Deena said, "you could always dig a hole, drop an apple into it, and bury it back up. A tree will sprout right from the fruit, and there will be new apples in about a week. It's a handy way to grow a lot of trees in a short amount of time too."

"That would help," I said, thinking of areas to the south where there were barely any trees around. "You may want to stay clear, since I'm taking down trees."

"Don't take them all down," Patty said as the two girls walked off.

"And don't work too hard," Deena added.

"I'll be more careful," I called to them.

After dealing with the tree the bees had been in, I considered the other five. The three on one end were all full of apples. Since they were in their own line, I took out the one in the center. I also took six apples from the other two trees, thinking to grow new ones in place of those I was taking out.

I looked over the other two and figured that one kind of mirrored another on the other side, which would look nice if I gave an edging to this path. Neither was fruiting, so I shook one to check for bees. Something did fall out, but not a hive. It was a large green leaf, like the item leaves. Curious, I picked it up and checked the tag. It stated itself to be an ivory piano, showing a beautiful full-sized instrument in glossy white.

"What was a piano doing in the tree?" I murmured. At any rate, I stuck it in my pocket and took out the tree. After planting the two plain saplings and the nine apples in various parts of town, I went back to the shop and pretty much traded it for something more useful to me, a cabana lamp.

* * *

I spent much of the day finding clumped up trees and thinning them out. I didn't get to all of them, as my axe did get dull and I didn't want it to break while I was in the middle of chopping a tree down. Then I went and planted more apples. While we would have a lot of them, I liked the forested appearance.

The reporters found me around four o'clock, as I was taking a break to walk along the beach. They were unfamiliar animals to me, a sheep with fluffy light blue wool and a snappy red scarf, and a rough-looking red boar who was scarred and wearing a shirt with a 3 on it. Once I waved to them, they came right over. "Oh, hello daahling," the sheep said. "You must be Nadia, correct?"

I nodded. "Yes, that would be me. Are you from the ACRN network?"

Chuckling, the sheep said, "Yes, clever guess on your part. My name is Baabara, one of the star reporters. And this would be my tech partner, Rasher."

"Don't mind me," the boar replied gruffly. "I just handle the equipment." He was fiddling with a recording device.

"May we give you an interview, Nadia?" Baabara asked. "We've been sent in to see how things are in this new town and it would be marvelous if we had an interview with the anchor."

"Sure thing. At least you're not the TV crew." I bashfully tapped my face. "I've been taking care of the trees today."

"Oh yes, and it shows. Rasher daahling, are you ready?"

"Mmm…" he fiddled with his device until a red light came on. "Okay, we're recording."

Baabara then brought out a handheld microphone and spoke into it while watching me. "Hello, dear listeners, this is Baabara with ACRN here to get the first interview with the first human in Animal Crossing and the anchor of the town Verdant, Nadia. How are you doing today, daahling?"

Once she pointed the microphone at me, I replied, "I'm doing well, thank you."

"You mentioned to us that you've been taking care of the trees today."

She offered me a chance to say something, so I did. "Yes, we had pretty much a tree roadblock on the main path. It was right at the base of that ramp, and right in front of a bridge, so everyone had to walk around it to get around town."

"Oh my! Those roadblocks are troublesome when they appear."

"Yes. But I made sure to plant plenty of new trees in place of the ones I took out.

"Marvelous, daahling. I take it you care greatly for your environment, then?"

I nodded automatically. "Yes, m'am. A bad environment just stresses everyone out, while a good one can help us relax. Plus, the trees are beautiful."

"I agree. And speaking of trees, what about the giant that's growing in your town? What's your opinion on that?"

"Well it's there and there's not much we can do about it," I answered. "But it is rather remarkable and beautiful just like the rest. I like it."

"I see. Now let's find out about you, Nadia. How did you end up in Animal Crossing?"

"I'm not entirely certain. But it may be due to outside forces. I died with my cat friend Monique, who lives here in Verdant with me. We encountered a strange being who called himself Loki. That's the name of an ancient mythological god in human culture, a neutral god of chaos. The Loki I met stated that he disliked complacency and gave me this tree choker necklace I have. Then he abandoned us to the mists until Rover found us."

Baabara and Rasher seemed surprised at the story. "Really, is that so? It's an odd story, and worrying. Do you know what this Loki intends for us?"

I shook my head. "No I don't. Even if we could ask him, I think he wouldn't give a straight answer. I hope he doesn't mean anyone harm. This realm is good and the people I've met are nice and interesting."

"Yes. And what do you think of your neighbors?"

"I like them too. I'd rather not gossip about them, you know, since I'm still learning about them."

"That's good manners," the sheep remarked. "Now what's it like being a human in an animal realm? I know you're better used to society than most new souls, but not society like this."

"I am still getting used to some things, like how everything works differently here. Sometimes I have a moment of disbelief and I wonder if I'm not dreaming somehow. But once I start talking to others, that usually clears up. Everyone here is different, their own person. I respect that."

Baabara asked me several more questions, but those were rather innocuous ones.

* * *

At five o'clock, I was waiting at the train station. I had cleaned up from earlier, and in time to meet the camera crew from ACTN, the television network. It was much the same as the radio interview, except that the reporter Jitters was trying a bit hard to make me say something controversial. I hope I didn't.

Monique came up to me as the train whistled, announcing its presence. "Are you watching the train?" she asked.

I shook my head. "No, I'm meeting someone. Rover got the person to run the coffeeshop in the museum's basement."

"Interesting," she said as she turned to watch the train stop at the station. We waiting until it had fully stopped, hissing to let out excess steam, to go into the station itself.

The door to the carriage opened, letting out three animals. The first was a purple cat who wore a long red shirt with a white flower print, a long cream-colored scarf, back pants and brown sneakers. The second was a green pigeon who had a highly formal style, with a neatly pressed white shirt, black pants, and even black shoes (which was more surprising on the bird than the cat). Finally, Rover came out as well.

"Well hello girls," the last said cheerily. "Good to see you well. This would be the town anchor Nadia and one of the villagers, Monique. And here we have Brewster," he indicated the pigeon, "and I can say that he's one of the best drink masters in the realm. Also, Bob here has decided to move into Verdant, so we picked him up too."

"Good to see you again, Rover," I said. Then I did a handshake (hand to wing shake?) with Brewster. "And good to meet you, Brewster. I'm happy you could come here."

"Coo," he replied. "I'm glad to be of service."

Then I greeted my new neighbor. "And good to meet you too, Bob."

He smiled as we shook paws. "Yes, delighted to meet you both, mademouselles."

Both me and Monique laughed. "I believe you mean 'mademoiselles', pffffft," she stated.

"Ah, but I was close at least. Well I'd love to talk to you much more, but I want to find a house before dark, and…" and he promptly tripped down the station steps, barely managing land on all four paws.

"Yeah, good luck with him," Rover whispered to me.

Bob got back up and straightened his scarf. "Pthhpth. I meant to do that. See you later!" He ran off.

"Thanks again for the tip, coo," Brewster said to Rover. "Drop in when you get a moment."

Rover laughed. "As if I'll get a free moment. I might make some time, then. Adios, amigos!" He then got back on the train and it got ready to leave.

Leaving the station to pick up a map, Brewster observed the town map. "Where is the shop located?"

"In the basement of the museum," I told him. "Do you need any help?"

He shook his head. "Thanks, but no. I'll handle my things myself." He started off.

That's when I recalled tomorrow. "Oh, and we were planning on having a town party down there on Saturday night. I hope that's okay."

Waving a wing at me, he didn't seem bothered. "Coo. That's good for business. I'll be open by then." He then walked off towards the museum.

Monique brought her paws to her chest. "Oh right, the party. I'm not sure what I should be wearing for it. I don't have much, but I'd like to look my best."

I shrugged. "Don't worry; it'll just be an informal affair."

"Still, I don't want to be mocked."

* * *

In the evening, I decided that I wanted something to read. All I had, though, was the guidebook my gyroid gave me and I'd already read that one through. I took a quick jog down to the town hall; it was getting cold and a fast pace kept me warm. On my way there, I noticed both Deena and Patty's lights were on. They were probably at home keeping out of the chill.

As I walked into town hall, I noticed that there was jazz music playing. Past the front counter, there was the usual array of desks, shelves, and even some machines that indicating a working office. However, Tortimer wasn't in the main room. The only one here was Phyllis, who was sitting back listening to the music.

She initially looked annoyed, but put that off for a blank expression. "Well look who's up late. What can I help you with?"

"I wanted to borrow a book from the library, if that's okay," I said.

"Isn't that was libraries are for? Hmph. Come over here." She grabbed a ring of keys and came out from behind the desk to unlock the door. "Now don't go vandalizing anything. The borrowing limit seems to be three, although I don't know why anyone would want to read three books at once. When you've got what you want, bring the clipboard out here so I can sign the books out." She flicked the library's lights on, then went back to her seat.

It was small for a public library, something you'd expect to be a personal collection. There was a rack for magazines in the center, but they all seemed to be old issues: Mrs. Nintendique, Chillin' Magazine, The Green Thumb, Sports Illustrious, Fisher's Guide, Bug Tracks, Soothe, and My Town. Around the walls, there were shelves of books. Unfortunately, some shelves were empty, others were half-full, and only a few were packed. One corner had no shelves, instead having a pair of over-stuffed armchairs and an unlit standing lamp.

I had a thought there that in my old life, I would check out several books as I had to drive to the public library. But since this place was just a quick jog from home, I decided to just borrow one. I found a gardening section and soon picked out a thick book titled 'The Green Village – How to Attain Harmony Between Nature and Town'. I took that and a clipboard that was sitting on the shelf nearest the door out to Phyllis. "Okay, this is the one I'll borrow."

"Hmm…" the violet pelican looked it over, then copied the title, author's name, and date on the clipboard. Then she signed her name. "Looks like something my sister would be into." For a moment, I thought I heard her mutter "tree-hugging hippie" before more clearly stating, "Okay, sign your name here and the book is yours for one week. There will be a late fee if you don't make the deadline."

"All right." I signed the paper. "Do you want me to lock it up?"

"No, that's my job," she snapped. "Go on, get back home before you get too chilled."

As brusque as the first time I met her, I thought. "Good evening," I said as I went out the door.

* * *

_Two cameos from my actual game town here: Baabara has lived in my WW town ever since I restarted in mid-July, while Rasher is more recent. I felt a bit bad for Rasher, though, cause I think most writers wouldn't use him due to his sprite. Oh, and something neat happened: Goose moved into my game town in the past week! And we share the same birthday!_

_Bob, on the other hand... he was one of my very first neighbors back on the GC version, so I knew I wanted him in the story. I've not gotten him in WW yet, but I hope he does move in someday._

_The first two magazines mentioned in the library are mentioned directly in the game. Mrs. Nintendique gets talked about by the snooty and peppy neighbors, while Chillin' Magazine gets mentioned by the lazy neighbors.  
_


	7. The First Town Party

**Chapter 7: The First Town Party**

Saturday, December 6

I went and picked up my gelato hat and umbrella from the Able sisters in the morning. It wasn't raining that day, so I just put my new umbrella in my house. On the other hand, the hat came in handy. There was a brisk wind all day and the woven hat protected my ears from it. I wore it with my gelato sweater and jeans. While it didn't look particularly stylish, it was comfortable.

After spending the morning doing what was getting to be my usual chores (and finding out that about half the trees I planted the day before died), I spent the afternoon considering what snack to bring to the party. Brewster would likely have the drinks covered, so that was no worry. Our town hadn't had a get together like this yet, so I didn't know who was likely to bring what. Or who would like what.

In the end, I checked what items I had and decided to do a cereal party mix. I could remember how to make that and it would likely work in this realm too. I had a nice mixed grains cereal that reminded me of Chex, some peanuts, Worchester sauce, the spices, some corn chips, and even a small bag of rye crotons (I wasn't even sure how I ended up with those, but it helped). The only thing I was missing were some mini pretzels.

But those should be a basic item, right? I closed my cabinets and softly asked, "Could I have some mini pretzels please?" Then I opened the nearest cabinet.

And to my delight, there was now a bag of little twist pretzels I thanked… whatever force is responsible for the food supply and got to work on the mix. The recipe I knew did work, so I put it into a bowl that had a lid to cool down.

While I worked, I left the radio on. They were playing music now, various bands with names like Whiskers, Party Stompers, Birds of Style, and Neoclaw. It was a range of genres too, like Neoclaw was a metal band (which surprised me some, but then I realized their lyrics were way cleaner and less violent than reality's metal bands). Much of it seemed to fall close to pop music, though. Probably since there was just one station, most music played would be the songs that appealed to the most people.

They stopped the music at two for news and reports. In the midst of that, I heard my interview with Baabara. That station hadn't cut any of it, which made me glad. Selective cutting could lead to skewed views. Then again, that spread news of Loki.

At the end of it, the announcer said, "From our initial look, it seems that although she is a human, Nadia is much how anchors are supposed to be: hard-working and kind individuals who seek to improve themselves and everyone around them. We at ACRN have decided to follow Central's policy of wait and see with this change in structure.

"As for this mysterious Loki, Central has investigators looking into the story, but advise that it may just be a chance event. The borders of our realm are intact as usual and nothing else out of the ordinary has occurred this week."

Nothing so far, then. But Rover said he'd keep in touch if they found anything, so it would be more likely that I'd hear significant news from him first.

There was still a lot of time left in the day after I finished the snack mix, so I went out fishing to work on my debt.

* * *

Fishing had seemed slow, but I ended up making a good profit on it. It was enough that I was able to pay off my second debt. "Nadia, you're doing very well with your house payments," Tom said when I came back to speak with him. "So are you ready for the next upgrade? I warn you, it's pricier than the last two, but your main room will be expanded and you will get an attic space for use as a more private bedroom."

"Sure, I'll take that."

"Great! Your new house will be ready tomorrow. Would you like to update the other options for free or leave them as they are?"

I considered it. "Um, leave them be for now. They're working out fine."

"All right. We'll discuss the cost tomorrow, then."

"Right." I looked around the shop, but only purchased some paper to write letters. "Say, are you going to be at the party tonight?"

Tom looked disappointed. "Oh, no I won't be. The shop will be open then, you see. I have to keep consistent hours."

"Ah. Well you could drop by for a few minutes if you like." I smiled at him.

"Thanks, Nadia, I'll keep that in mind."

* * *

I arrived at the coffeehouse shortly after seven, carrying my bowl of party mix. Patty and Deena were there too, and the three of us set about to decorating. Over at the bar, Brewster was checking over his equipment and testing out some things. He was quiet, keeping mostly to himself, while the three of us were chatting and laughing a lot.

We set most of the tables in a row against the wall, to act as the snack buffet. After we put several blue tablecloths over them, they looked nicer, although we agreed something more festive would be appropriate. Patty had brought over brownies, while Deena had date bars. After a little while, Brewter brought over a bowl of punch and a cooler of soft drinks, both of which he was offering for free just for the party.

After that, I found a helium tank and a bag of colorful balloons in the closet, so I pulled those out to inflate some. Patty and Deena brought out streamers and taped them anywhere they thought would be fun, like the bottom of the stage, along the bar, up the staircase, along the tables, on the ceiling corners. I added my balloons to spots, including a pair on the sign in the museum lobby. I noted that it named the coffeeshop 'The Roost'. That seemed quite appropriate.

At eight, others started arriving. Rodeo came in with Goose. Monique came shortly after, followed by Mabel, Tortimer, and Pelly. Copper came in, saying that he'd only be here a short while, but wanted to make an appearance. Blathers and Celeste came down, starting up a conversation with Brewster. Finally, Bob came in around a quarter after.

There wasn't really an agenda, but Pelly went up to the piano to play for a little while. Patty sang a song, and soon got others to get up on stage and try. As for myself, I went over to the bar and checked out the menu Brewster had.

"Oh Nadia, isn't this a coincidence?" Blathers said to me. "It just so happens that Brewster is the fellow I knew in college. I knew that Rover had impeccable tastes."

"It's a small world, as they say," Brewster commented.

I smiled at them. "That's great. The prices you have seem a little high." I could buy an umbrella or a shirt for less than some of the drinks here.

"It's for the quality," the pigeon informed me. "I don't settle for anything less than the best ingredients, from the best farming towns."

"I see. Could I get a hot spiced cider, then?" I passed over the payment.

He nodded as he took it. "I'll get on it. This will take a few minutes." He went to the fridge to retrieve the apple cider, then poured some in a cup to place in a warming device.

"Brewster is so serious," Celeste said with a smile. "He rarely reacts to anything. Unlike my brother, who freaks out any time he sees a bug unexpectedly." She giggled.

"He-hey!" Blathers protested. "I've just had… bad experiences with insects. But I deal with it for the sake of my job."

"That's one form of courage," I pointed out.

"I wouldn't be too sure of that," the brown owl replied. He shuddered. "In my view, insects are like disgusting monsters, but on a much smaller scale. Have you ever taken a close look at one? I wouldn't have, except that I had to in order to get my museum curator's degree. They're so alien, unlike we animals. The way they wear their skeletons outside their bodies, and yet some of them have hair! And their beady compound eyes… I just cannot fathom how that is natural."

"They're kind of fascinating in that way, as well as disgusting," I commented. I liked a few bugs myself, but some I didn't want to go near. Like cockroaches.

Blathers sighed. "Well I'm just glad that the insect display doesn't require much care. So long as the plants are healthy and thriving, there isn't much I need to do in there. Of course, there's only a couple in there now, but when spring and summer come along… yeah, I hope we don't have any mishaps."

Brewster then placed a white mug on a platter in front of me. "Here you are, Miss Nadia, one hot spiced cider."

"Thank you," I said and pulled it closer to me. The amber colored liquid was slightly cloudy from teeny bits of apple and spice remaining. And he had stuck a cinnamon stick in the mug too, so that added its own red-brown coloration. I swirled that around, then took a sip.

And it was well worth the high price. It was something I might have found on small family farms, I reflected, a definite homemade flavor. It was like someone had melted an apple and added the finest cinnamon, along with other spices I wasn't too sure of. Definitely, Brewster put a lot of care and knowledge into his drinks.

"That's very good," I told him.

He nodded slightly. "As it should be."

The tall yellow dog that was Copper came over and looked at the menu. "Hello, fellow, could I possibly get two coffees to go?"

"How do you want them?" Brewster replied.

"One black, one with milk and sugar." He produced enough Bells for the drinks.

"Coo. I'll get right on it." He went to retrieve some travel mugs with lids.

"Ho Nadia, this party was an excellent idea," Copper said, nodding to me. "A close-knit community helps make a safe community."

I smiled to him. "Sure, Copper. How's work going?"

"Fine, we've got things under control. The town border is tight in most areas, although the northwest corner concerns me. Our giant tree extends up into the outer mists and we can't easily patrol up there, or keep an eye out for demonic invasions. But we're watching it closely."

"I see."

"There's also a peculiar feature about the hill itself," he police dog added. "It's not easily seen, but on the side of the hill nearest to the border fence, there's… something."

I looked to him. "Something?"

"You ought to see for yourself. Not tonight, as it may be too dangerous in the dark. But tomorrow, go take a careful look around the hill."

"Okay, I'll do that."

Brewster passed over two mugs. "The black lid is on the black coffee, white on the coffee with milk and sugar," he said. "There you go, sir."

Taking the two mugs, Copper replied, "Thanks. I'll see you all around. Keep safe!" Then he headed up and out of The Roost.

I finished off my cider, then went to mingle with the others. There was quite a bit more snacks available: an apple cobbler, chocolate cookies, a vegetable tray, and two bags of potato chips. Not really hungry, I offered to take over the piano from Pelly, even though she seemed to know the songs by heart. She smiled and let me do so, so I pulled out the party songs book again and played from there.

"Oh hey, why don't you and Monique sing a song?" Patty suggested from where she was nibbling at a variety of snacks on her party plate.

"We don't really know the songs, pffffft," Monique said, shyly bringing her arms in closer. She had decided to wear a pretty red dress tonight, which was trimmed with black lace.

"We can try singing from the book, at least," I said, flipping through the book until I found one that looked simple.

"Okay," she said, still uncertain but not wanting to look like a wallflower. She sat by me on the bench and looked at the songbook.

Patty brought the microphone stand over to us as I played out the song once so we could hear it. Then we made an attempt to sing through it, which didn't work out too well as the song was just funny and one or both of us would start cracking up mid-line, causing our neighbors to laugh too. It was about friendship and how you can tell your best friend anything, even the really embarrassing and dumb stuff that you've done.

After we got through that, Patty and Deena wanted to play their guitar and cello, so we left the piano bench. I got some punch and various snack, then sat down at a table with Monique. We chatted and clapped for whoever happened to be on stage. In the mean time, other neighbors would come over and talk with both of us.

At one point, Bob came over to our table. He was still wearing his white scarf, although his shirt had changed to something of purple stripes. "Do you two lovely young ladies mind if I come admire you from up close?" he asked, trying to sound suave, but coming off as a bit silly. "A girl's beauty can't be truly appreciated from far away."

I smiled, holding back a laugh. "I suppose if you keep the flirting to a low," I told him.

He sat down in an empty seat. "Ah drat. Am I being obvious?"

I nodded.

On the other hand, Monique seemed to be thinking. "Hey… wasn't that line in a movie that was on TV last night?"

Bob perked up. "Right, you mean The Islander? I love that one!"

"That might have been it," she said. "It had the red frog who moved to a town from an island and stirred things up, but then he ended up with the girl in the end."

"And it has an awesome scene where there's a surfing competition and the guy surfs while standing upside down! That is one of my top favorite action scenes ever."

"Yeah, that was it," she said, nodding. "It was kind of nice, although lacking a bit somehow."

"It was made on a lower budget than most movies," Bob admitted. "But they did a great job with what they had. I'm a total movie buff, so I could recommend some other movies if you want to see some other great ones. I get all my pick-up lines from movies too."

"Oh?" I asked. "Like the ones you were using on the other girls earlier?"

"Ah, well," he grinned, but was blushing too. "You know how it is; a truly romantic guy is a rarity, so those of us who are ought to spread the love around." When both of us giggled, he looked blankly at us. "What?"

"I'm not sure love works that way," I told him.

"Well that would keep you in good practice, I suppose," Monique commented.

"And you know what would sound good," Bob said, turning to her, "was if you'd practice singing. You've got a voice like honey and could be as sweet as cake if you developed it more. Mmm, cake… I wish somebody had brought some cake."

"These date bars are pretty nice," I said, holding the last bit of mine up. "They must have some honey in them."

"Are those the ones with the oats and healthy stuff in them?" he asked. "It doesn't exactly seem like snack food. Then again, my favorite way of having dates is a candlelight dinner, some whispers of love, and a walk on the beach at night."

"Is that from another movie?" Monique asked.

Bob nodded. "Aw yeah, A Month in Montera. That is a sweet romance that'll leave you with all sorts of warm fuzzy feelings inside. It's a great one to watch with your sweetheart at your side." He then thought of something and pulled some items out of his bag. "Oh right! I didn't have time to bring any proper snacks to the party, so I brought these instead. Here." He handed over an orange to each of us.

"An orange?" Monique asked, looking over the round fruit.

"It's special because only apples grow in this town," Bob told us. "But oranges are both healthy and tasty, which is good for keeping healthy."

"He is right about that," I said. "I might just plant them instead, though. We could have some orange trees then."

"Well you plant mine too," Monique said, handing the orange over. "You seem to be learning a lot about that."

After a while of talking with him, he seemed to lose interest in not getting much of a reaction out of us with flirting or near-flirting, so Bob went off to talk to Mabel. Monique went to pick up some of the cookies, but ended up chatting with Patty and Deena while Pelly went back to play piano some more. I noticed that Rodeo seemed to be off by himself, so I picked up my plate and went over to him.

"Hey there, mind hanging out with me some?" I asked.

The bull smiled. "No, that'd be nice, chaps. I tried to ask Deena to dance with me earlier, but she was worried about me stepping on her feet." He looked down at that. "Which I probably would."

"Don't feel too bad about that," I said. "Lots of people are clumsy."

"I know." After a pause, he said, "I've noticed that you've been planting a lot of trees lately."

I nodded. "Right, because I've been clearing out some other trees. Not as many as I've been planting, though."

Rodeo nodded. "Well that's good. I'm mostly into flowers now, but I know having a good amount of trees helps flowers out too."

"Right. Actually, I've been reading up on making a good environment for the town and the book I have suggests that having many flowers spread through your town will help make things happier. So what's the best way to grow lots of flowers?"

From the look on his face, he was pleased that I was seeking out his advice. "Oh, well… I admit, I've loved flowers for a long time, but I haven't taken them seriously until lately. This guy that I knew in my last town, he had the most amazing garden around his house. He always won the Flower Festival wherever he lived and had so many florist trophies. But most amazing of all, he had grown a golden rose."

That puzzled me. "A gold colored rose?" I asked.

He shook his head. "No, it's a rose that appears to be pure gold. Not just the flower, but the stem and the leaves too. I was stunned by it, but he wouldn't trade it for anything. He kept it safe inside his house, so I went to see it whenever I could. And I decided that I'd figure out how to get a gold rose of my own."

"That does sound amazing. I wish you good luck with that."

"Thanks, Nadia."

After taking a sip of my punch, I said, "I'd just like to get more flowers around town."

"In that case," he paused, thinking. "Then you ought to grow similar flowers together. Like put roses with roses, and cosmos with cosmos. When you do that, then another flower like them may grow up near them in a few days. I once planted a pair of white tulips together, and a month later, I had twelve white tulips in that area without having bought any more or moved others there."

"Really?"

He nodded. "Yeah. My buddy said that it's best to put pairs together if you're looking to grow a lot of flowers. And if you're really lucky, you might go out and find a hybrid flower too."

"Hybrids? Like they look different?" Hybrids could mean many things, after all.

But Rodeo seemed to know what he was talking about. "Hybrids are differently colored flowers. I only know how to get a few hybrids. If you put a white flower next to a red flower, and they're both the same kind of flower, there's a good chance that you'll get a pink flower out of them. I've gotten a pink cosmos and a pink tulip out of that combo. And I know if you put a red tulip with another red tulip, you might get a black tulip."

"Black tulip, huh… that sounds interesting."

He nodded. "They look really nice, those black tulips. But I lost the one I got when someone ran through my flower garden."

"That's too bad."

"Yeah… hey, I've got an idea! You just want flowers for the town, while I'm trying to get a gold rose. How about if you help me find all the roses that are growing wild around town for my garden, I'll let you take what non-roses I have right now to plant elsewhere? And when Nook has flower seeds, I'll just buy the roses and you can have anything else."

I nodded. "Okay, that sounds like a good deal. I know where some roses are growing in other parts of town, so I'll help gather them up for you tomorrow. And if I find anything on your gold rose, I'll let you know."

Rodeo smiled. "That sounds great, chaps! We can work together and make Verdant look beautiful."

A short time later, Patty got up and suggested that everybody join in on one last song. I checked my watch and found out that it was getting to be eleven o'clock. Some people were looking tired. We sang what was apparently a common song about friendship; it was simple, but seemed to have deep meaning.

Then Goose called out, "We ought to do this next weekend! Who's up for it?"

"Sure, that'll be fun!" Patty said, pleased that this party had gone well.

"It will be a thing to look forward to," Tortimer said. "I like the idea. Are you okay with it, Brewster?"

"Fine by me," the pigeon replied. As he had mentioned yesterday, it was good for business.

"We could shift responsibility for setting up around," I suggested, although I knew I'd probably come early next week too.

"Excellent," the mayor said. "So we'll have a nice weekly get-together now. See you all next Saturday, then."

There were some cheers, then people went to go retrieve the snack dishes, instrument, or whatever else they had brought. I stayed behind to help Blathers, Celeste, and Brewster take down the decorations. When I headed back home, I had a feeling that our community was getting off to a good start.

* * *

Sunday, December 7

Gardening took up most of my Sunday. Following the suggestions in the book I borrowed from the library, I carefully planted the three oranges I had (the third having come from Rodeo). Since they weren't native to Verdant, I wanted to make sure they had the best possible chance of growing. There was a lot that could kill a young sapling, but once it had survived an entire day, it would be in that spot until someone took an axe to it.

Then I kept my word to Rodeo. While I searched for what weeds had popped up, I picked any wild roses that happened to be growing. I only came up with nine, all white, yellow, or red. But he seemed pleased with that and kept his end of the bargain, allowing me to take the twenty other flowers from around his home to spread throughout town.

My gardening book seemed to support what Rodeo had told me in that placing similar pairs around would work best. I had cosmos, pansies, and tulips mostly, although there was a pair of carnations. As the bull told me that the carnations were uncommon, I placed those two near my house. I could keep an eye on them there and there was less foot traffic near my place, meaning less chance of them being trampled. I spread the others in all parts of town, just off the footpaths so that they could be admired without being run on.

There was also what Copper had told me, which I remembered after visiting with Monique for a while. He had said something was on the hill which I ought to see. "Have you noticed anything unusual on this hill?" I asked the cat. "I mean, besides the tree."

"Hmm…" she scratched her chin. "Well, there is that large hole in the side of the hill. It's opposite my house and you can't see it easily from here. But if you stay on the bottom of the hill and walk around it, you'll see it. I haven't looked too far into it; it's kind of dark."

After I said goodbye to her, I went back to my house to retrieve the candle from my new bedroom. Now that my place had an attic room too, I had moved my bed and clock upstairs. The room had come with the standard wallpaper and flooring, as well as a pink bookshelf. Unfortunately, it came with no books.

Back at the hill, I walked around as Copper and Monique had suggested, close to the border fence. Up the hill a short ways, there was a cave entrance outlined by a pair of large roots. I lit the candle and peered down inside: there was a series of drops, like a natural spiral staircase. There was no mist, so I started down into the hidden cave.

The slope was gentle, but the tunnel snaked around before deciding to go in a long slow curve downward. There were some mushrooms growing in the dirt; I wondered if they were edible. By looking at the walls, I could tell that this was a dry cave. However, in the moments were I stood still, my candle wavered in some light movement of air. Roots from the giant tree could be seen everywhere, so I was careful with the flame.

Then, something changed. There was a pale green glow spread across the ground ahead of me. Some light was ahead, but what? And why was it underground? I wasn't exactly sure how deep I was, but I guessed around two hundred feet, possibly. I kept an eye out for the white mist, but walked quickly ahead to the next turn.

And there was something amazing there, an enormous natural cavern. In the center, there was a tall cluster of rocks covered in green moss. It was that moss that was glowing, sending out a lightly green tinted light that was soothing to stand in. That managed to illuminate the entire cavern, something that everyone in town could fit comfortably. Overhead, the roots of the tree served as support columns, keeping this place intact.

There are places of quiet, and then there are hushed places. The quiet places are those that could be interrupted by noise, fragile in that way. But a hushed place, like this cavern or the inside of a cathedral, discourages such noise and will always seem quiet, even if you are talking. Was this a sacred place then, or just one of peace? That feeling of life that the tree emitted, it was even stronger down here. I knew in standing here that the white mists would not be able to harm the tree, or invade this space below it.

I soon decided that this was one of my favorite spots in Verdant. Perhaps some lights could be placed in the tunnel leading to it? If we could find a way to get the moss to grow there, that might be best. Otherwise, torches with open flames weren't good around the tree's roots, and I wasn't sure electricity would work down here.

At any rate, I left to ask Copper and Booker if they had gone down into the moss cavern.

* * *

_No K. K. Slider, huh? Don't worry, I have plans for him. Bob in this story is based on how I remember him... and that is why he is a flirt. Seriously, I remember him flirting with my female PC a lot. It was pretty funny. Although I think they outdid themselves in WW with the lazy type's 'I love you, I love you not' conversation. That cracks me up whenever I get it._

_As for Patty and Deena, I've had Patty before, but I don't believe I've ever had Deena. I paired them up as inseparable friends, like girls tend to be._


	8. Snow Day

**Chapter 8: Snow Day**

Monday, December 15

I had decided to save money for a while, because Christmas was coming up. I wasn't sure whether I should get gifts for everyone, or just those I was really close to. Apparently, there would be a town meeting today about the holiday. I wondered why.

But before that, I got together a potato salad and brought it down to the beach where a new house had appeared. It was snowing lightly, tiny little flakes that were melting as they hit the ground. I had gotten several sweaters, scarves, hats, and gloves, so I was plenty protected against the chill. At that time, I was wearing a jagged shirt print, a brightly colored zig-zag sweater, with some heavy black pants. "Good morning, gyroid," I said to the wriggling figure by the door.

"Good morning, neighbor," it replied as I knocked. "My mistress should be here shortly."

The door opened, revealing a short blue penguin who was wearing glittery pink mascara. Her red sweater had black snowflakes and clung close to her body. "Ah, so I've already got visitors? Good morning."

I bowed my head. "Good morning. I'm the town anchor, Nadia. Here, I brought some potato salad if you're interested."

"Thank you, how thoughtful. My name is Friga, brrmph. You may come in for a moment, if you like, but I'm still moving in." She took the bowl and went in.

I followed her in. She had nice wooden floors with a green rug and a fancy wallpaper. Even with just that and moving boxes, Friga already had a cozy feel to her home. "There's going to be a town meeting outside town hall in a few hours, at eleven. And it's a rather cold day you've moved in on."

The penguin waved a fin at me. "That's just perfect for me, dearie. I move from winter to winter, as I find cold weather most ideal. I know another penguin or two that don't mind warmer seasons, but it's just not for me."

"That makes sense," I said. "Do you need any help getting things done?"

"I don't think so, but thanks for the offer. I'm always glad to see a thoughtful anchor."

After a little more chit chat, I said goodbye to Friga and left her to moving in. I saw her again at eleven, when everyone gathered outside town hall. Some were shivering in too light clothing and complaining about the chill. Rodeo was worried about how the snow and upcoming frost would affect his garden. As for Goose, Friga, and Bob… well they seemed happy to see the snow

Tortimer was dressed in a heavy brown cloak, a bright yellow cap, a rainbow knitted scarf, and fur trimmed boots. Careful with where he put his cane, he came out to meet with us. "Hello everybody, and thanks for coming out today on our first snowfall! Winter is still a few days away officially, but the snow is giving us a little preview. So make sure that your homes and wardrobes are ready to deal with the change."

"Pffffft, it would have been nice to have some more warning of the cold," Monique muttered.

The mayor ignored that comment, or didn't hear it. "Now with the coming of winter comes the great holiday of Christmas. In the true spirit of the holiday and wanting to keep things fair, we're going to have a secret gift exchange on that day. Later on today, you will receive a letter from me giving you the names of three folks here in Verdant. It might be one of your fellow villagers, or it might be one of the town workers. You will then buy each of those three folks a nice present, gift wrap it, then turn it in to town hall without putting your name on it.

"Of course, you sprouts are welcome to buy other gifts for your friends and give them to their gyroid to hold onto until Christmas. But with the secret gift exchange, everyone will be able to look forward to three special gifts on that special day. As for now, today is now Snow Day and I'm looking for some helpers to put up colored lights all around town. I've got plenty of strands for everyone. Also, I hear Tom Nook has gotten in some special decor for the season, so you may wish to sneak a peek in his store and see if you want to splurge this year. Who's up for lights?"

A few people cheered; others looked annoyed at the cold. Friga excused herself, saying that she would love to help, but had to set up her own home first. As I had nothing planned for the day, I volunteered to be one of the helpers to put up lights, along with Rodeo, Patty, Deena, and Goose.

Tortimer then brought a giant box out of nowhere and started handing out light kits. On looking at me, he said, "Sprout, if you don't mind using a ladder, I'd be pleased if you would put up the lights on everyone's homes."

"Can one person manage that?" I asked.

Nodding, he handed me an item leaf. "Once you turn the light strands like so," a plastic holder that was strung with a long coil of lights appeared, "you can stick this in your bag or on the ladder's hook. And when you get to the houses, there will be small hooks on the edges of the rooftop and doorway. String the lights around those two areas; anything other decoration will have to be up to each person."

"Okay, I should be able to handle that."

"Great, thanks sprout!" He handed me an extra bag with lots of lights as well as the ladder in leaf form. "Be careful now."

I decided to get the houses in this area of town first. That would be Patty, Deena, Friga, Bob, and Pike. Even with how Tortimer explained it, I still found it a tough job. Although, I'm not sure having another person helping would make it any easier. I was glad I had thought to bring my gloves today and not mittens; I needed the free finger movement to get the wires secured on the hooks. There were outdoor outlets just behind every gyroid, so I plugged the lights in there. However, they seemed to be on timers, so I couldn't see it the strands were working or not.

When I was at Bob's house, I saw the purple cat checking over his windows. "Afternoon, Nadia, pttbth," he called.

"Good afternoon, Bob," I called back. "I'm here to put up your lights."

"Excellent. I'm working on finding a draft I've got somewhere." He twitched his tail, then asked, "Hey, have you had lunch yet?"

I shook my head as I brought out the ladder. "Not yet. This is taking longer than I thought it would."

"Well that's no good. Here, I'll make us some tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches; would you like that?"

I smiled. "Yes, thank you. That sounds really good."

The cat grinned. "Excellent, ma cherry. I'll get right on it once I mark this draft point.

Laughing lightly, I put the ladder against the wall. "And that's ma chere, monsieur."

"Oh, I love French! I just don't speak it very well." He smirked and pointed to me. "But you make it sound absolutely divine. I'll get to making lunch." He placed a bright green piece of tape on the windowsill, then went inside.

By the time I got the roof lights up, Bob had finished making lunch. He invited me inside and we sat at his large table. He had a colorful room, to put it lightly. Everything was quite playful, from the large multicolored stereo to the puzzle-patterned wallpaper. At first, the gray television on the table was out of place, but then again, he had decorated it with cartoony stickers with googly eyes.

"I believing in having fun," he told me, while dipping his cheese sandwich in his tomato soup. "You can even make most chores fun if you think of them as another game. Although, some chores are just chores, but you still gotta do them."

I nodded. "Like winter-proofing your house. Mine's fairly new, but I should probably check things over carefully later, just in case."

"Right, don't want to find yourself in a jam when the first deep chill moves in."

When I got done with eating, I thanked him, then went outside to put lights around his doorway. But as I was putting the ladder away in my bag, Bob came back out. "Something up?"

"Yeah, actually… have you gotten to Pike's house yet?"

I shook my head. "No, but I'm headed right over."

"Oh good. Look, would you mind delivering a letter to him? I was supposed to reply yesterday, but I admit that I spaced out on that one. He might get annoyed if I mail it through the post office and it arrives even later."

"Sure, I'll do that."

He sighed. "Phew, thanks a lot, Nadia. I'm trying to be nice to Pike, cause it seems like he could use a buddy. But well, he can be a bit scary too." He handed me a sealed envelope.

"You're right on both counts," I agreed, taking it and placing it in my bag. There was a slot just for letters, so it could stay out of the mess of lights I had.

"Oh, and don't go reading it! I mean, I'm pretty sure I can trust you, but with letters, you got to be careful." He smiled shyly. "I got in trouble once due to some nasty gossip that started with a letter I wrote. I didn't mean anything by it, so… well, just be careful with what you write to people, okay?"

I nodded. "Okay. See you later.

"Later!"

When I got there, Pike wasn't at home. I set up the ladder and started stringing up lights like at every other house. By the time I was done, Pike finally got back. "What are you doing here?" he asked curtly.

"Putting up Christmas lights on your house," I told him. "They're free, courtesy of the mayor as he said at the meeting."

The ferret just rolled his eyes and started to head inside.

I got the envelope out of my bag. "Oh, and you have a letter from Bob. He wanted to make sure it got back to you in time." I handed it over to Pike.

Looking at it, he muttered, "Lazy…." Then he looked to me. "Well come in. I got something to lend to him, if he's reasonable." He went into his house, leaving his door open.

He was letting me in his house? To be polite, I followed him in and closed the door behind me. It surprised me a little, but Pike had a very organized and clean house. He had black and white tiles on the floor and a half brick half plaster on the wall. Around the walls, there wee lots of low shelves with everything sorted nicely. There was a couch and a glass coffeetable in the middle of the room.

Most interesting, there was a pair of bonsai on that table. A lower shelf had some scissors, a small watering tin, and a box of rocks, things that would be used in the care of those miniature trees. Perhaps that was his hobby?

Pike read the letter, then retrieved a DVD case from one of his shelves. "He's not selective enough with his movies," the ferret commented. "Perhaps if he sees some real classics, he might see things in a better light. Here, would you deliver this to him? Tell him to get it back to me in a week."

I nodded. "All right. I was just looking at your bonsai here. They look rather wild."

Smirking, he came over to sit in the couch. "That is how they are supposed to look, harrumph," he told me. "Bonsai is not about putting order onto nature. It is about giving art to nature. Some things are better when in order, and some things are better as art."

"That's a good point," I replied, looking back to the trees. "These are evergreens?"

"Pines. This one is a mugho pine, while this is a ponderosa pine. I like the scent of pine, but most pine furniture looks so tacky. I prefer to keep satchels and incense sticks of pine around instead. And shouldn't you be off on your jobs instead of chatting?"

I smiled. "Can't take everything completely seriously. But I've got the distant houses to get now, so I should be going. I'll get this to Bob first. Have a good snow day."

"Right," he said, then turned his attention back to his plants.

I gave the DVD to Bob, who seemed delighted to have it. He offered to let me borrow one of his movies, but then I didn't have a TV to watch them on. So he gave me some Bells instead as thanks for delivering the letter. Then I went to get the other houses I had left, Monique, then Rodeo, then mine, then finally all the way around the lake to decorate Goose's home.

I was late afternoon by the time I got back to town hall to return the ladder and extra bag. All of the other buildings now had lights on them and I was excited for when evening would come and they all would turn on. "I've got all the houses done," I told Tortimer.

"Wonderful," the turtle said, smiling. "I know it's a lot of work, so here." He handed me an item leaf. "This is a snowman model. When the snow starts stick, you can take some time to relax by building your own snowman. This will help guide you to making a wonderful one."

"Thanks, that sounds fun," I said as I stowed the snowman model away. Plus, I didn't have much purely decorative in my home. The snowman model might be nice for that.

"Oh, and Tortimer?" Pelly called from the front desk. "Don't forget about the library."

He chortled. "Right, right! Thanks for reminding me." He looked to me. "Nadia, could I ask a favor of you? It's not much, but I would appreciate some assistance."

"Sure, what do you need?"

He rubbed his chin. "It's about our little library here. I've given it some thought and I believe we can fit it into the town budget to hire a proper librarian. That will allow the library to be open more often than it is now and give it a chance to expand, maybe even to its own building. A librarian will be able to add more books to the collection and keep the periodicals up to date. In order to hire a librarian, I need to go to our district headquarters of Chime City, to make a request at the main library there. And I'd like you to accompany me there on this trip."

"Is that it?" I liked the idea of having a librarian, though.

"Well I am an old tortoise," he said, smiling warmly. "Travel doesn't always agree with me and I could use a sharper mind about in case I forget about something. Plus, I think it'll be a good thing for you to make an appearance at Chime City. The judges for our district live there and I'm sure that if you leave a good impression on the city folks, the district at least will be more open to the idea of keeping you as our anchor."

I nodded. "That's true. Okay, it sounds like a great idea."

"I'm glad you agree, sprout! I plan on going over on Wednesday, leaving around nine; does that work for you?"

"Sure thing."

After that, I went to go check on Tom's holiday items. There were a few signs of things already sold out, not surprising due to the small store. But I did find some extra strands of lights (only orange, though), a pretty set of festive candles, a number of tree decorations, and a holly decorated candy bowl. I considered the candy bowl for a moment; it came with a mail order request for several candies: peppermints, dinner mints, wrapped chocolates, gumdrops, and cinnamon reds.

"It seems several people enjoy this time of year," Tom said cheerfully as he came by after helping Friga. "I had four festive trees and they all sold out before noon. And I've had several requests for more. Were you interested in one? I've got the photos here of what I had. I can't guarantee that I'll get those particular ones in tomorrow; the warehouse gives them out at random. But I could order a specific one if I had it today." He showed me the item form for the trees.

I took the forms and looked them over. There was one big festive tree, a realistic looking fir with white garland and gold lights. Two were labeled festive trees, a cedar mimic decorated in red and gold and a white tree decorated with silver and gold. The last was a small festive tree, a tabletop tree that was blue with multicolored lights.

"They come pre-decorated, I see," I said.

"Just with garland and lights, or one or the other," Tom said. "You can pick out what other decorations you'd like, or give them as early Christmas gifts. And you should know that it's traditional around Animal Crossing for, the night before Christmas, the villagers to travel around to see each other's decorations, inside and out, then to gather for a party in the evening." He then frowned, looking thoughtful. "Well I'm not sure party is the right word. It's a gathering that can be fairly solemn, so I hear. But the workers have our own rituals which we hold separately."

"You don't do that kind of thing together?"

The tanuki smiled. "I think you'll understand, when you go there. And unless you want to be seen as anti-social, you shouldn't skip it. I suppose you could skip the decorating, but then that's the fun part. I'd be decorating the shop myself, but I've put in to get another shop upgrade and I don't know when I'll get approval."

"All right. I think I'll hold off on the tree for now and see what you have tomorrow. I haven't thought much of decorating yet."

"I understand, you've had a lot to do in settling in. I'll see you tomorrow, then."

I left the store and went back home, as I was hungry after all the work I'd done. Thankfully, that morning I had thought to put together a beef and vegetable stew. It was welcome after that long cold day. The cabinets gave me a few rolls to go with it and I had a good dinner.

After cleaning up, I heard my Gyroid call out, "Nadia, the lights have come on! Come see."

I looked out the frost tinted window and saw that it was dark. I grabbed my candle, thinking that I ought to buy a flashlight or lantern when one came up in the store. Once I had my warm clothes and boots on, I headed outside.

The lights around my home were all white and steady. I smiled; this time of year was always exciting. "That is nice."

"I have options to change the appearance of the lights," my gyroid offered. "Like this." It changed the light to a rainbow multicolored array that seemed to race round the rooftop and doorway, going off and on.

I laughed. "That's playful. But, could you make them all blue instead? And with more of a slow fade and brighten effect, if that's there."

"I'll give it a try." The lights then turned blue. After a few moments, they settled on fading and brightening as I asked. "How's that?"

I patted the gyroid. "That's delightful, thank you." Looking at it, I wondered. "Are you a boy or a girl, or just a thing? Cause I was wondering if I should get you a bow or a hat."

"It doesn't matter, but typically, gyroids owned by girls are girls and gyroids owned by boys are boys. Although there's no significant difference."

"I see. I'll think on it. I'm going out to check out the other lights."

"Be careful out tonight, Nadia."

"Thanks, Gyroid."

Walking towards town, I saw that all of the cedar trees had been decorated with multicolored lights. The snow wasn't yet sticking, but it should look lovely once snow is on the ground. I saw Booker hanging a large red bow on the police station, and Copper was putting evergreen wreaths up on the train station. Down on the lower part of town, I saw that every building was now decorated with lights on the outside, while the workers were finishing up inside.

The town hall now had a pretty set of bells that jangled every time the door was opened or closed, plus evergreen garland and the green pine festive tree behind the counter. The museum had a similar tree, all decorated with starry ornaments and fossilized teeth (it was amusing and nice, though). While the main shop wasn't much decorated yet, the tailor shop was done up in a very pretty manner, with sparkly white 'snow' fabrics, silver and gold tassels, a silver festive tree with photo ornaments, and many other pretty things.

Down at the lake, someone had placed several posts, each with a small strange of lights. These reflected on the surface of the water, along with the half moon in the sky. It may have been cold, but it was such a nice spot that I sat by the lake and just admired them and thought for a while. As I did, I recalled that I hadn't yet picked up my mail and found out who I was getting the secret exchange gifts for.

I heard footsteps in the grass nearby and picked my candle back up. There was Goose, running around with a black flashlight in his hand. Raising my candle up to get his attention, I called out, "Good evening, Goose!"

The rooster stopped by me. "Good evening, Nadia. Aren't the lights great?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I was admiring these ones here on the lake."

He grinned and patted his chest with his wing. "That's my doing, buh-kay! Tortimer told me to do something special on the lower part of town, so I decided to decorate at the lake. It's such a nice effect, I think."

"That's true. Good work then."

"Thanks. Hey, wanna stop by my house for some hot tea before you go? You've got a long walk home, but it'll warm you up."

I got up. "Thanks, that sounds good. I'll come."

We ended up playing a few rounds of a game he called mancala. It was a wooden board that had two rows of holes with a bin at either end. Colored stones were placed in the holes and the point was to move the majority of them to your bin. But, you had to pick up all the stones in one hole and drop them off one by one into the holes or the two bins, in a clockwise manner. It was simple, but an interesting way to pass the time.

"I had a friend who was really good at this game and never lost once," he told me. "He said it was all in numbers and strategy, but I couldn't understand his methods. I'd much rather quickly use my feet than spend forever using my mind."

"There's advantages to both ways," I said, then took a sip of my tea. "What got you into running in the first place? Just curious."

He didn't seem to mind it. "Oh, it goes back to when I was a new soul like you. I had just been another rooster on the farm, you know. Well maybe not just that; I was a pet to one of the boys and followed him around a lot. I died of old age, I think… or maybe I got sick. Anyhow, when I got here, I had no clue what to do."

I nodded. "There's so much you can do that it's overwhelming. Probably more so for the rest of you than me, since I started out on this level."

"Right, you are lucky there, buh-kay. I made friends with the anchor of the town I first came to as well as the other neighbors. But there was one guy in particular… he was a chubby fellow, to put it lightly. He was sick all the time and the anchor kept asking him to work out to improve his health. Well I thought to myself, there's no way I could live like that. So I hung out with a guy who exercised a lot and tried a bunch of things with him. I got to like running the best, though."

"I see. That is a good reason to start."

"And it's fun too," Goose said cheerily. "In running around town daily, I get to see so many interesting views and learn little secrets. Like the little ledge on the east side of the waterfall. If you're daring enough, you can creep out and feel the mist right on your face, or even put your wings in the falling water. It's pretty cool."

"Especially in this weather," I mused. "Have you seen the cavern below the giant tree?"

His eyes went wide. "Huh? There's a cave underneath the tree? Aw man, how'd you find that out before me?"

I brushed my hair out of my face. "Actually, Copper told me to check it out. It's on the side of the hill nearest to the western border and hidden partly by the giant roots there. But if you go along the bottom of the hill, you'll find the entrance. It's pretty dark down there, so if you want to check it out, you'd better bring your flashlight."

"I see then." He smiled. "Well, it'll be a new thing to explore!"

After a while, I said good night to Goose and headed back home. The ground was starting to get slick with forming ice, so I was extra careful waking up the slope. Back at home, I asked my gyroid if there were any messages (none) and picked up the evening mail. It included the letter from the town hall about the secret gift exchange, which included three gift tags with the names of those I was buying for.

I had picked up Celeste, Sable, and Pike.

* * *

Tuesday, December 16

Tuesday was a pretty miserable day in terms of weather. It was raining off and on, but the droplets were nearly freezing. I did a bit of fishing for money, but gave up after half an hour as it was just so cold and nasty. Still, I brought the fish and some identified fossils to Tom's store to sell.

He was quite cheerful, though, in direct opposition to this weather. "I got approval to upgrade my shop again," he said, acting a bit like an excited child. "So the store will be closed all day tomorrow. A bit of a pity for this time of year, but it will be worth it."

"Well that's good," I said. "Here, I've got some things to sell."

"Oh, yes yes, let me see what you've got."

I ended up with a nice windfall, so I checked out the Christmas decorations again. One of the festive trees (the big one) had sold out again, but I spotted one of the mid-sized ones that I immediately adored. It was made to look like a fir tree and came with snow-like garland and icicle shaped lights that came in blue, silver and white. "This is a pretty one," I said.

"You like it?" Tom asked. "It is a very nice model and will put a nice evergreen smell in your house. It would be two thousand bells."

That seemed fair enough, so I bought it along with a set of silver and blue glass ornaments. Maybe it was a bit much of a splurge for me, as I still had a house loan to pay off and the cold would make it difficult to earn money. But I felt really happy while setting up the tree and putting the artistic orbs on the branches. This time of year was wonderful.

Although, the tree clashed a bit with what I had in my main room. I still had the blue trim wallpaper, now with a wooden floor and a white and lavender round carpet. That wasn't too bad, until you considered the red couch, the CD player radio, the green bookshelf, and the gaudy kitschy clock. In truth, I hadn't been too concerned with the design of my home's inside and just took what I thought would be useful. But if my neighbors would be coming over for Christmas Eve, I might want to make sure things matched at lest. Then again, it really wasn't that far away.

After I got done, I looked over the tree and noticed that it didn't have a top decoration. Maybe I might find something in Chime City tomorrow. I felt warm and giddy, and…

_Don't put up the mistletoe this year!_

…and somehow terribly sad. I brushed my tears aside, but I couldn't think immediately of who I was missing. I knew I had to have left someone behind when I died. Monique seemed to know.

But was I really ready for that?

* * *

I had to find out more about what my gift recipients would want, so I tried to spend some time with them. Pike, well, he was cold as always, so I would just have to guess based on what I'd seen of his home. For Sable, I went into the shop and tried to chat with the two sisters casually. That worked out fairly well. "Actually, I'm going to visit Chime City tomorrow," I told them. "But I don't know how the weather will be."

"Oh. Chime City?" Sable said, pausing in her sewing. "It's currently April there, and it tends to rain a lot then."

"Right, the towns are on different times," I said. "So I'd want something I could shift to a lighter weight."

"Our sister works in Chime City," Mabel said. "She's got a really glamorous job too. Sometimes I'm jealous, but I miss her more than that."

"Well she does work hard for her position," Sable said. "Although… would you mind looking for her, Nadia? Her name is Labelle and she works at the Gracie Grace store. I just want to make sure she knew that we moved to another town."

I nodded. "Sure, I'll look for her and that store."

Sable nodded. "Thank you. Just, don't buy anything from that place. I mean, it is really really nice stuff, the highest luxury you can find in Animal Crossing. But it comes with a steep price."

"Yeah, you could almost pay off your home for the highest priced items you can get at Gracie's place," Mabel added. "Then again, some of it is very dreamy."

When it got dark, I went to the museum and visited with Celeste at the observatory. "How are things going for you?" I asked her.

The pink owl smiled warmly at me. "Oh, splendidly! Folks seem really excited about the photo gallery and we've got a few already in there. Most towns have an art gallery which only draws a few people. Plus, buying art is horribly risky. Some people do make hobbies out of making copies, and some even do it out of honest love for it. But then merchants get a hold of them and try to pass them off as the real thing."

"That's pretty bad. At least with the photos, you just have to buy the camera."

"Right. Do you have a camera, Nadia?"

I shook my head. "No, I've been working on paying my home loan and buying only what I felt I needed."

"Ah. That is prudent. Also, this observatory is magnificent. The telescope is really nice and you can look at the heavenly constellations, or you can zoom in and see the mystical and strange surface of the moon, or you can zoom even further and see the dreamy forms of colorful nebulae." Then she blushed. "Oh, listen to me; I'm starting to get like Blathers, chattering on and on."

I smiled. "Well you are siblings. And you are both very smart, so it's not that bad. But that was quite poetic."

"Oh, you think so? Well gazing up at the heavens does inspire the inner muse of many people. It opens your mind and makes you wonder what's possible. Well, that and I have always done a bit of poetry writing. Not a lot, but when most everyone else is asleep, I tend to find my mind wandering."

I had learned some more about them; I just hoped it was enough to find nice gifts for them.

* * *

_I do like Wild World, but I miss the real world holidays. I think I had Friga once, but it must have been in one of my older towns._

_And I have a list of random towns in the next chapter, so if you want, mention the name of your town in your review and it might end up referenced. Just don't put your Friend Code, or you'll have random strangers showing up in your town...  
_


	9. Life in Chime City

**Chapter 9: Life in Chime City**

Wednesday, December 17

At nine in the morning, I went to the town hall to meet with Tortimer. I also took some money out of my savings account to do some Christmas shopping in the city. The old turtle came out of the library with some papers and smiled when he saw me. "Ah, good morning, sprout! Ready for an adventurous day?"

I smiled. "Sure. Do you have everything you need to get the librarian?"

He nodded. "Of course, I was just double checking it all." He tucked the papers into a simple brown bag under his thick cloak. "I slept good and long last night, so I should be plenty ready for a busy day."

"Don't forget to set your watches to show a split time between Verdant and Chime City," Pelly piped up. "I know you only mean to be there a few hours, but it helps to have the reminder."

Tortimer nodded. "Oh yes, we should do that. Here, you should be able to do that at your time screen."

After figuring out how to arrange both times to display, we said goodbye to Pelly and headed up to the train station. Tortimer seemed quite spirited, although we walked slowly. Once at the station, he went to a black box and flipped a switch. The text was a bit small, so I helped him pick Chime City out of the available destinations. Then we waited.

It was only five minutes, though, before we heard the train whistle. The one-carriage train slowed down, then opened its doors for us. We were greeted by, not Rover, but a strange white cat in a flowery dress. I say strange because her face didn't seem quite right. It was… it was like an abstract drawing of a face, not an actual face. Then she shifted her head just so and I saw a thin reflection of a thread underneath her left ear. She was wearing a cunningly disguised mask.

"Welcome to the Chime City District passenger train," she said. "Please come on board. We'll be arriving at your destination in four stops."

"Good morning, Blanca," Tortimer said, getting on ahead of me. I followed soon after. "How're things going with your train?"

"Good, good… except I think the person who last drew my face was making fun of me."

"That's the risk you taking in borrowing face, hoorf!" He chuckled, then sat down in a seat close by.

I sat on the bench with him. "Your mask is very convincing," I said quietly.

On hearing that, she tensed and stilled her tail. Then she leaned closer tome. "Oh, please don't tell anybody. It kind of ruins the mystery."

I nodded. "All right. I promise I won't speak of it again." Maybe odd, but some people did have odd hobbies.

I spent much of the trip listening to Tortimer tell his stories. Was he truly old, or was it like a well-done mask like Blanca wore? Or the child-like look I had when I had been getting to middle-aged? Whatever it was, he liked to talk and have others listen, and I didn't mind doing so.

* * *

Chime City: Monday, April 23

When we arrived at Chime City, it was close to one o'clock in the afternoon. But the skies were gray, the streetlights were on, and it was pouring. Tortimer and I adjusted our clothes, me lightening the weight of my gelato sweater to a heavy t-shirt while putting away the winter extras and he getting rid of his cloak and putting on rain boots. We weren't the only ones getting off in the city, as others groaned about arriving in the rain and searched about for umbrellas. Acting on Sable's word, I had brought my gelato umbrella. It was plenty big enough, but Tortimer had his own umbrella, a light blue one with a dark blue shell pattern.

Tortimer nudged me and pointed out a sign by the train station. "Mind picking up a map for me and you? My map turned out to be outdated when I was here last."

I nodded. "Sure, I'll get that." Most of the other passengers, those getting off and those getting on, were respectful enough of the elderly tortoise to make way for him, but I was quicker and got the two maps as he descended the stairs.

With the rain making quite a racket on our umbrellas, Tortimer adjusted his glasses to check out the map. "Hmm… ah, so the library is in the same spot. It's a couple of blocks away, but it will certainly be dry and warm for us. But we shouldn't rush, sprout. The clouds may be trying to drench our spirits, but we have cheerful umbrellas and rushing will just cause us to trip."

I laughed lightly at that. "So very true."

We walked down the cobblestone street to a circular plaza. In the middle was the flock of birds fountain I had admired from the train when I first arrived in this realm. Unfortunately, it was difficult to see it as it was meant to be when it was raining so heavily. There were a great many stores on the edges of the plaza. I noted the Gracie Grace store and stashed its location away in my mind. But that would be for later; we passed the plaza and walked on.

Once past the plaza, the streets were mostly empty. The occasional animal person ran by, some unfortunates tripping as Tortimer had said. I helped a couple of them up, but they usually apologized and kept on going. One was embarrassed at tripping, but the other was amazed that, "You look like a human!" I told him that I was and he gave me a funny look, then went on.

After some time, we came upon the main library. It was a suitably grand building with a Classical design, smooth lines and tall columns. I was interested to see that a pair of sphinx statues was sitting beside the stairs, watching those who came in. After helping him up the stairs, I opened the door for Tortimer and shook off my umbrella.

"Good afternoon, la-di-da," a dark blue and red robin greeted us from the front desk. "If you don't mind, please leave your umbrellas at the rack by the door."

"Of course," I said, doing so.

Once he left his umbrella, Tortimer went up to the desk. "Good afternoon, miss…?"

"Robin, sir," she replied. "May I help you?"

He nodded. "Yes, Miss Robin, I'm Tortimer, mayor of Verdant Town, and this is the anchor, Nadia. We have an appointment with the head librarian."

Robin brightened. "Oh, yes! Sorry, I should have recognized you. Excuse me." She looked down and checked some papers. "Right then… the meeting will take place in conference room B, just down that hall," she pointed across the library to where a hallway in back led to closed off rooms. "Go on in; I'll page the head and have him there in a jiffy."

After waiting in the rather plain conference room, we met with two people, an orange and black tiger who wore a checkered vest like Blathers' and a black-spotted green lizard who wore an orange blouse with a long black skirt. "I'm the head librarian, Theo," the tiger said, shaking our hands. "And this is Helen, one of our workers that we're looking to place."

"Pleased to meet you," Helen said.

"Pleased to meet you too," I replied, shaking her scaled paw.

Theo grilled us for a while on why we were looking for a librarian, what we thought of books, and if the town could afford it. Tortimer handled all the financial and government questions; he may have said he needed a sharp mind, but he was very much on top of things in this situation. On my side, I told them that I loved books (there was nothing better to me, if the weather was bad like this downpour, than being able to snuggle with a blanket and read a good book). That was likely how the small library appeared in the first place, with the same unspoken wishes that got the museum an observatory and the town a tailor shop.

In the end, we got Helen as our librarian. The lizard said she needed a few hours to get her things together, but she would meet us at the train station at ten to seven in the evening.

After the library, Tortimer took me to see the government building for our district. It was a short distance from the library and it managed to be even grander. While it shared the red brick structure of Verdant's town hall, the Chime City Government Building had more ornate trim and two statues of angels formed like a cat and a dog. And on top, there was a winged figure of the blind Justice. Except, this justice seemed to be an eagle or a bird of prey like that.

The lobby inside continued to be grand, with glossy brown marble floors, a granite topped desk, and a large crystal chandelier. Below the chandelier, there was a large billboard, much larger than the ones in town. There were several notices on the bottom, for if something in the town was wrong and the problem unsolvable, giving a utilities statement, giving directions to various offices, and other useful info. Above that, there was a listing of the towns in the Chime City district.

I was a little surprised to see that there were twenty-six towns total. There were interesting towns listed, like Aniwais, Banapple, Bugaboo, Chromic, Lum, Treehut… Verdant was down near the bottom, with a line that stated, 'Verdant, Nadia, 12/17, 8 residents, Status: Good, 0 years, 0 months, 17 days'.

"Chime is actually a small district in Animal Crossing," Tortimer told me. "The most towns a single city can support is seventy-five, and that's if the city is its maximum size. But the small districts have their perks too, as the towns are more likely to be friendly with each other."

We spoke with a few of the officials who were on break. I had quite a few questions on how things worked above the town level and most were happy to answer them. Most matters of the realm were handled by the workers who were assigned based on merit, although sometimes a call for a realm wide vote came out. Those votes were cast by the town anchors, but the anchors in turn were expected to question the residents of their town about the issue.

At the highest level, things in the Animal Crossing realm are managed by three angels, as represented by the three statues outside. Jainiel the hawk was the head of justice and had authority over the judges who not only handled disputes, but also assessed the residents to see if they were worthy of moving out of this purgatory like realm. Einziel the cat was the executive head and had authority over mayors like Tortimer, the police forces, and Rover the reaper. And Lesliel the dog was the legislative head, having authority over anchors like me and certain special inhabitants. No one in the realm had authority over Jainiel, Einziel, and Lesliel, and they were all considered equal. However, it was said that they were under the authority of those in the heavenly realm.

"So if the three angels are equal," I asked the mule official I was speaking with, "then why is Jainiel on top of the building?"

"Oh, that…" she glanced around, then leaned over the table. "Most people wouldn't mind meeting Einziel and Lesliel. The two of them come into cities and towns from time to time to check on things and take care of particularly nasty invaders or issues. But if Jainiel appears, that only means one thing: that someone has failed and could be removed from the realm."

"Failed?"

"I've only seen failures appear five times over my long career as mayor," Tortimer told me. "They're folks who, for some reason or another, turn bad or cause too much trouble. You'll get a certain number of warnings to clean up your act, but at a certain point, an immediate judgment is called for."

The mule nodded. "If such a judgment is called for, Jainiel must appear. So a good number of folks fear meeting him. Although as I hear it from the judges, the justice angel isn't a bad guy. He just takes his job seriously."

After we left the government building, it was past three o'clock by Chime's time, but past noon for the two of us used to Verdant's time. It was still pouring, so we went to an indoor restaurant for our lunch. It turned out to be a pizza parlor, so we split a spinach alfredo pizza between us.

"We've got several hours left to wait on Helen," I noted.

Tortimer nodded. "Right, but I've got some business to take care of while I'm here. It doesn't require you, so why don't you take some time for some shopping? I'll meet you by the fountain at quarter til seven." He glanced out the watery window. "Unless it's still raining buckets, in which case I'll be in the auction house near there."

"All right. I'll see you then; be careful in the rain, Tortimer."

"You too, Nadia."

Before I left the pizzeria, I checked the map to see what stores were around. There was quite a variety, but I had a promise to keep. I knew the Gracie Grace store was at the fountain plaza, so I headed there.

It was quite the glamorous store, reminding me of shops back in Earth's realm that were top-line brands. Up front, there was a group of stylishly cute clothing and accessories; unlike the Able Sisters' store, this place included watches, earrings, and other jewelry. But the main part of the store was devoted to showing of fanciful fantasy furniture, like that which a little girl would adore to have. One piece that caught my eye was the elegant four-poster bed that had a lace canopy.

There were a few others in here, apparently customers, but I soon spotted a hedgehog in the furniture area. She seemed to be arranging a sale of a pretty chair, so I spent some time glancing through the clothing rack. Much of it seemed to be spring type clothing, like a cute red shirt with black spots called a Ladybug Shirt, with labels clearly indicating the fabric was lightweight only. But there were some heavyweight winter-appropriate clothes too. However, most of them were very pricy; around 5000 Bells was the cheapest shirt I found when the Able shirts were all less than a thousand.

Among all those expensive pieces, I found a very striking dress that I really liked. It was like some kind of costume, yet impressive. Much of it was just a simple white dress, but it also had a golden breastplate with dark brass trim. The armor also had a piece across the lower back as well as some shoulder guards. According to the label, it was a Valkyrie Dress, could not be altered, and was 10,000 Bells. Yikes.

There was no way I'd have a spare ten grand for that dress any time soon, so I left the clothing rack and saw that the saleswoman was at a small counter now, documenting the sale. I approached her and smiled. "Hello."

On seeing my outfit, she gave me a momentary skeptical look, which soon shifted to puzzlement on seeing that I was a human. But that was soon replaced by a smile. "Hello, welcome to Gracie Grace, the most elegant fashionable store around. We have our Princess Furniture series in now; may I help you with anything?"

"I was wondering, are you Labelle Able?"

The hedgehog looked surprised. "Oh, yes, that's my name. What is it?"

I offered to shake her paw. "Hi, I'm Nadia from Verdant."

Taking my offer, she nodded. "Oh right, I've heard about you! The human anchor. My, it's nice to meet you."

"You too," I said. "I'm primarily here to check in with you. Your sisters Sable and Mabel live in Verdant now and they wanted to make sure that you knew where they were."

Her eyes widened, then she blushed. "Oh my, I'm sorry. I've been so busy with the store that I haven't checked my mail for a while. Has it been that long?"

"Two and a half weeks," I told her, leaning on the counter.

"Oh dear." She looked down for a moment, then back to me. "So they live in Verdant now. Okay, I'll make sure to write them a letter as soon as I'm off work. Thanks for telling me, Nadia. Of course, I'm sure Sable's working as hard as me, as always."

I laughed a bit. "That's right. Actually, I was wondering, how often do you get a day off work?"

"A day off? Well, not that much. Gracie wants to keep her store open every day, even most holidays."

"I see." I let her see my watch. "Well you see, it's the seventeenth of December in Verdant now. Christmas is coming up. They didn't ask me this, but I think it'd be nice if you could come to Verdant, then. It seems like the three of you haven't gotten together lately."

"Hmm..." she looked at the time and date. "Oh, Christmas. That would be nice. It's not that far off. Hang on." Labelle took out a notebook and wrote down a few things. "I might not be able to… then again, if I can convince Gracie that her customers would love to see her in person, I could see about getting that day off." She put her notebook up and smiled warmly at me, not a salesperson's smile this time. "Right then. You must be something special, I think, if you managed to make friends with Sable. Mabel's quite a lot friendlier, but Sable doesn't let herself be distracted by much."

"Actually, don't tell her this, but I drew her name in a secret gift exchange," I admitted to her in a quiet voice. "I've been friendly with them, yes, but I made an extra effort the other day to figure out what to get Sable."

"Really? Well…" she laughed lightly, "I've got something else in mind, but I can give you a little tip. Our mother liked to have scented candles around while she was working, away from the sewing machine of course. And she and Sable had the same favorite one, called Sweetpea Sweetheart. There's a store called Sensations a little down the ways that still carries those candles. She would adore that."

I nodded. "I see, Sweetpea Sweetheart. I'll look for it; thanks a lot, Labelle."

"No, thank you, dear. I'm all excited now; I just have to find the right way to convince Gracie."

Since I wouldn't be buying anything from that store, I said goodbye to Labelle and checked for the location of that store. It was off the plaza, but not that far. Sensations was a more modest store than Gracie Grace, looking something like an old Victorian house with its gingerbread trim and peach-painted wood.

As I entered the store, I was first struck by an array of smells. The strongest was a salty flower scent from a lit display candle labeled 'Sea Blossoms'. In the background were more complex mixes, waxy, rosy, leathery, smoky, herby… once I got past that, I saw that the inside was like the outside, like a high class home in bygone times.

There were more customers in this store, so the clerk merely gave a short greeting to me before turning her attention to a Dalmatian ready to check out. There were several doorways to other rooms, but I went into the one I spotted candles in. Along the walls, there were shelves filled with many scented candles. In the center, there was a display of incense sticks with a sign noting that holders were in another room.

But I was looking for one particular kind. One wall was labeled 'flower scents', but it turned out not to be there. I checked another second that was 'classic scents' and there it was. According to a sign, these were part of the small selection available when the Sensations brand started up. They had several sizes and shapes available, but the holders were elsewhere in the store. Unsure if Sable had any particular candle holder, I went to check those out first. No sense in picking out a candle to find that I didn't like the holders for it.

This larger room was devoted to small home décor, which was mostly candle and incense stick holders. Thinking to myself, I figured that she would want something that was stable and unlikely to tip over. A clothing shop didn't need a fire risk, after all. There were some pretty fancy ones, but I ended up picking out a square frosted glass that had a heavy bottom and thinner sides, which would protect the flames of the smaller candles.

Before I left that room, I checked around in case anything interesting was about. And there was. I saw a bonsai in a rectangular pot which looked like the two Pike had, but not exactly like them. Hanging beneath it was a sign. 'This Pine Bonsai is a decorative and earthy scented accent piece. HRA tip: place in a room with a Muhgo Bonsai and a Ponderosa Bonsai for a set bonus!'

I wasn't quite sure what the HRA stood for, but if it was part of a group with the two he had, Pike might appreciate it. I picked up that and turned it to a leaf; it had a peculiar black band across it, perhaps indicating that it wasn't yet paid for. Then I went to get a small square candle that would fit into the holder I picked out.

There were two animals waiting on checkout ahead of me, so I waited in line. An odd brown duck who wore glasses looked at me curiously. "Oh, hey! Are you that human anchor Nadia that I've heard about?"

I smiled a bit, but felt shy too. I wasn't used to this kind of attention. "Um, yes I am. And you are?"

"Oh, nobody real special. I'm Derwin; nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too. So what are you doing here, Derwin?"

He held up a couple of item leaves. "Oh, just looking for some things for a buddy's birthday. She likes this kind of thing, I think. I just hope I got the right ones. What about you?"

"I'm looking for presents too. Christmas is coming up in my town."

Derwin perked up. "Really? Well lucky you! That's always a great time of year. Oh, want to hear something good?" Without waiting on an answer from me, he said, "If you want a really good deal on stuff, go check out the Reclamation Store."

"Reclamation Store?"

"Yeah. It's not labeled or fancy like other places, but it tends to have nice selections. See, when old items are taken from the recycling bins, or the lost and found, or even from folks who've left the realm, they all end up at the Reclamation Store. You can get stuff cheaper than any other official store, but they only have what they have, and it has to be bought as is. If you clean stuff up, you can end up with some really nice things."

"That does sound good. Where is it, if it's unlabeled?"

He pointed at the window, then a particular direction. "Go that way until you see a brown building with the green Nook trademark on it. That's it."

I nodded. "Okay. Thanks Derwin, that's really helpful."

Grinning, he replied, "Good to help you. Hey, I've been thinking of dropping by Verdant for a visit, cause I hear you guys have a really weird tree there. Is that all right?"

"Sure, that'd be great. It's December, of course, so be sure to dress warm."

"Right, I will. I dunno when I'll be able to get out there, but I'll be sure to say hi to you when I get there."

Derwin had wanted to get back home, so he left as soon as he checked out. I bought my three items, then went to find the Reclamation Store. Like he said, it was an unremarkable warehouse that had a simple wooden door with an equally simple sign stating that it was the shop I was looking for. I went inside to check it out.

It was like that in the inside too, with concrete floors and mismatched wallpapers displayed. Overhead, the roof was pounded by the heavy rains. A tanuki that had some gray furs streaked through his brown was sitting in a rocking chair by the counter. He yawned, then said, "Oh dear, sorry. Welcome to the Reclamation Store, where you'll find abandoned items for cheap. Everything you see but the building itself and the register are for sale. And I'm excluded, of course." He chuckled at his joke. "I fix what needs to be fixed, so you might just need to clean them up a bit and they'll be as good as new."

I smiled and nodded to him. "All right, Mr. Nook."

"Always good to meet with respect," he murmured, then got up to fix himself some coffee.

I went to look around and it was a lot of miscellany. There was a pine table that had a number of jewelry items on display, including a cute orange watch with a ring of tiny pink flowers around the display. I thought of Monique for some of the jewelry, but nothing really stood out to me as something she would really love. However, there was a unique chair nearby that she might. It had been a plain wooden chair with a pink cushion on the seat, but then someone had painted flowers on the back. I decided to take that for her.

Close to that, I found something unexpected: an old fashioned phonograph. It had a brown case with a coiled horn speaker. On the top of the case, there was a vinyl record. Only, it wasn't actually an actual record. There were dials on the front and a sign that it would play the 'standard note format' and radio broadcasts. It was dusty and had finger smudges (or paw smudges, I guess), but I felt it would clean up nicely. While I was supposed to be getting gifts, it was such a nice deal that I decided to buy the phonograph for myself.

Elsewhere in the store, I found a selection of books and music. The books took form of a brown bag with a tag that gave a brief summery of the book, while the music took form of large yellow quarter notes with the artist name and song titles on them. A tape deck nearby was active to play any song a customer wanted to hear and was currently on 'Petite Waltz by Pretty Star Eloise'. Among the books, I found a few blank journals. A sign by them noted that all journals had been thoroughly erased before being put on display.

And one of them had a pretty cover. It was hardback, mostly black with a star design. On the front, there was a golden crescent moon with a dog-like fairy. That seemed like something a girl interested in astronomy and poetry might like, so I chose that for Celeste.

That covered my secret gifts plus my friend, which mostly satisfied me. Should I search for small gifts for the others, like Christmas ornaments? Nook's ornament prices weren't bad, but even in the expanded store, I wasn't sure how many he would have.

I brought the journal and the chair to the old tanuki to buy them. "Excuse me, but is there a holiday kind of store in Chime City? Christmas in particular."

He nodded. "Yes, yes… not affiliated with our family network, but we do provide some of their inventory. It's called Full Year Festivities and is just off the fountain plaza. They price fairly, unlike some other competitors we have in the cities, so I feel confident in recommending them to you."

"All right, I'll go check them out. Thank you very much."

Leaving the store, I placed the presents with my other purchases, then pulled out my umbrella. I saw a movement of green nearby, so I turned my head. There was a most peculiar animal there, even more so than what I'd seen so far. This was the first insect I'd run into. He was a mantis, tall and slender with long thin legs and those distinctive 'praying' arms. More telling, though, was the necklace he wore: a wide black choker with a golden tree clasp. It matched the one that I could never take off exactly.

Was it him? "Loki?" I asked.

The mantis smiled at me. "We meet again, Nadia."

* * *

_And Loki returns! Anyhow, I do not have City Folk, but a number of the things I wanted to do aren't available in the game as it is. Scented candles really wouldn't make sense, for one. The Reclamation Store, however, could have been a neat feature, getting in random items people on your Friends list tossed in the Recycling Bin._

_it was a slight cameo, but here's the origins of the towns listed in the Chime City district. Thanks you guy!  
_

_Chromis- Nevin Slate_

_Aniwais- E. Taylor_

_Banapple/Lum (Town)- DemonAngel-SweetDevil (I don't think Lum Town is that bad. Makes me think of Pokemon)  
_

_Treehut- you should know… it's the translation team_

_Bugaboo- my WW town_


	10. We Meet Again

**Chapter 10: We Meet Again**

Chime City: Monday, April 23

It was eerie in a way, that meeting. The rain was still falling heavily, giving the city a twilight blue-gray look. The orange light near the entrance of the Reclamation Store was casting sharp shadows on the sidewalk. And there wasn't anyone else in the streets, just me and the mantis Loki. He seemed to have tried to blend in, as he was wearing clothes that were available here. But he still looked threatening, which was unlike anyone I had met so far.

"What are you doing here, Loki?" I asked.

He flexed one of his arms. "I told you: I've been trying to break into this realm for a long time. Although I know places like this, the stepping stones to the heavens, are generally boring for a guy like me, this one has always intrigued me. Animals are fairly low on the reincarnation scale, you see, as good souls that stay on Earth will reincarnate to humans, where as those that need extra work drop to animals. So to have an animal's soul jump directly past the human stage to Animal Crossing, these folks are all special. And I like special folks."

It was really hard to gauge his intentions. He might claim to be neutral, but he also asserted himself as chaotic. "Then why did you send me here?"

Loki chuckled. "For fun, of course. I admit, I could have used an animal that was destined to be an anchor to get a branch of the world tree to break into here. But that wouldn't disrupt things too much. On the other hand, sending a human like you here has caused all sorts of uproar, confusion, and even some doubt. This realm has been complacent for a long time. You are a change that is sure to trigger many more changes. I don't care what; I just like a realm in motion."

I listened to him, but my mind latched on one detail in particular. "So it is Yggdrasil in Verdant."

"A branch of it," the mantis corrected. "The world tree crosses the boundaries of realms, up to the highest heavens and down to the deepest hells. The realm you know as the Earth lies in the middle; this place is higher than that, but not to the lofty heavens just yet. So treat it well or you'll get retribution from more than just me. And now a question for you, Nadia. Are you adjusting to this life with animals?"

I nodded. "Yes, it's really wonderful. And the animals are great people."

"Is that all? And have you found your true self yet?"

That didn't make sense to me. "What do you mean?"

"Exactly what I said. Or are you still just the quiet one who agrees to get along with everybody?"

"What's wrong with that?"

He laughed. "What's wrong with that? If you can't figure it out, I don't think I'll tell you. You just accepted this new role so soon? You might have at least panicked or thought it was a dream for a while. Then again, maybe something else is required." He put a hand to his chin and looked thoughtful.

"I don't think you'll be welcome here," I told him in a calm voice. I didn't want to anger someone of his power, but it had to be said. "These folks are working on their own problems; they don't need external problems heaped up on top of that."

"You think so?" He smiled, leaning towards me. "It might not work that way. The external problems might help. Plus, I have more power than you know of." Then he stood back up straight and waved a hand. "More power than I can use here, actually. There's a slight problem I've been having… watch."

Then he lashed out at me with his sharp-edged insect hands. I flinched reflexively and stepped back, about ready to scream. But the hands never touched me. It didn't stop my heart from thumping wildly.

"Hmph." He crossed his arms over his chest. "There's a strict code of non-violence in this realm. There are a few exceptions, but they must come directly from the angels who run this place. I've found that while you can clobber someone with a brand new well-sharpened axe, it merely bounces off as if it were made of rubber instead of steel. You can't even slap someone who's ticked you off. But there is something I can do that doesn't qualify as violence… it would just be more fun with an audience."

The air around us then went blurry, which made me disoriented. When my vision cleared up, we were at the fountain plaza instead. There were several people outside, acting startled as we appeared out of nowhere. The mantis then jumped onto the edge of the fountain.

"This realm just runs on its same routines, day in and day out," he declared. "It never changes or grows."

"The people in it grow," I replied.

He shook his head. "Perhaps, but the place remains never changing. But I, Loki, god of chaos, will change that! I may have to work differently, but you are just the beginning. This realm will not be allowed to remain complacent. Now observe." He brought his two praying hands together.

At that, the previously rain heavy storm sprouted multiple bolts of lightning. Several struck in and around the plaza, rendering all of us there deaf for a moment. Some of the animals seemed to be screaming and trying to run away, but the lightning struck awful close to everyone. Then, in a blink, the shops around us and the streetlamps all lost electricity, leaving us in a gray dimness.

A gorilla then ran up to the plaza, dressed in a red and brass uniform much like Copper and Booker had. He carried a hefty staff (either that, or it was a fancy club). "Hold it, demon!" the gorilla guard called.

"Demon?" Loki replied in distaste. He made greenish-white flames burst out around him. "I am no demon, follower of Einziel. I am a god and don't you forget it." He made a lightning bolt come unnervingly close to the gorilla. "I believe I've made my point, so I'll leave for now. But I'll be lurking, waiting for an opportunity to come." He then vanished into a green haze, which soon dissipated.

The gorilla looked to me. "Are you all right, miss?"

I nodded. "I'm okay, just a bit spooked. He told me he couldn't actually hurt anybody directly, but he seems to just want to make trouble."

"I see. Well if you'll excuse me, I need to check this area and make sure he didn't leave a dimensional hole in his wake. I hope he doesn't trouble you again."

"We can hope," I said, although I doubted it.

As I walked away from the fountain, one of the others who had seen him called out to me. "Hello there!"

I looked to him; he was a strange creature that I wasn't sure about, pink skinned with red hair. "Hello."

He looked towards the fountain, spooked. "My, wasn't that a frightening experience, with so much lightning so close… brr! But now he's gone. And you now… you're a curious creature and you have the same kind of necklace as he did…. Hmmm…" he leaned closer and examined it.

I leaned a bit back from the overly-friendly (and mood-swing happy) person. "He did give it to me. I'm Nadia."

With his eyes brightening, he nodded. "Oh yes, I've heard of you! The human we have in Animal Crossing now. My, my, my, it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Dr. Shrunk, and axolotl, though, not a skunk. I'm the city's premier psychiatrist and comedian." He bowed. "I'd invite you to my Marquee shows, but I'm on a little break now."

I smiled. "Well good to meet you anyway, Dr. Shrunk."

"Why don't you come with me then, and calm down a bit after that freaky insect god interrupted our lovely soggy day? It'll be my treat, the first drink anyhow."

"Oh, thank you. That's very kind when we've just met."

He laughed. "Don't worry now, my lady, I'm not trying to hit on you. I'm just curious, you see. You're new to the realm and I know how to help those in similar situations. But you're a human too, so it's a bit of a thorny issue… the coffeehouse I like is right here on the plaza. There are some nice ones if you explore, but this one's right here."

Shrunk and I went into the coffeeshop, which was just now getting its lights back on. It was set up a bit like Brewster's place, but with speckled tile floors and abstract paintings on the wall. Over on the stage, a shaggy white dog had put his guitar aside to check on his sound equipment. The bartender wasn't there, but may have just been in back checking on things to.

I looked over the menu. "I thought my town's coffeeshop had high prices, but seems like it's about the same here."

"Yeah, but the cheap shops have cheap flavors. Oh, wait, wait, wait!" Shrunk suddenly grinned. "I'm treating you, so let's play a game, huh? You answer a few questions and I'll pick your drink out for you. It's a good proof of my talents."

Leave a psychiatrist-comedian to pick my drink? Well, he was paying for it, so I'd give it a shot. "Okay, go for it."

"All right! So…" he put his paw to his chin. "What king of girl would you say you were: peppy, preppy, or quiet?"

I consider it. "Out of those three terms, probably quiet."

"I see. Next, do you follow fashions, start them, or ignore them?"

"Ignore them, mostly. They'[re just fads."

"Okay. Now this one may be a bit hard, but... how mature were you when you died?"

I smiled some. "I was around forty, I believe, so I was a mature adult."

Shrunk grinned. "Whoa, really? Then you look marvelous for your age, honey, you really do."

As I laughed, the bartender, a pale green cow wearing a yellow cosmos on her head, came into the main room. "Oh, sorry, I was checking things after that blackout. What can I get…?" she looked between us, then asked, "Are you playing your little games again, Shrunk?"

"Why yes, of course," he said. "I'll be ready to order in a minute.

"Ah." She winked at me. "Good luck, sugar."

"Hey, hey!" Shrunk looked mad, but quickly looked playful again. "Now how many times do I make a bad pick, huh? Trust me." He turned back to me. "Ahem. Okay, last question. You're in a furniture store, looking for a new couch. Do you go for the most colorful piece, the biggest piece, the most comfortable piece, or the most practical piece?"

I considered it. "The practical one, I suppose."

"You were thinking of two options," he said slyly. "What was the other?"

"The most comfortable one."

"I see, very interesting… Prairie, I've got it! Get me a caramel spice espresso and her a chai tea with a shot of vanilla crème."

"All right, I'll get right on it."

"I don't think I've ever had chai tea before," I told Shrunk.

"Oh, it's very nice," he said. Then he tapped the table. "Tea and vanilla, two flavors that people often say are bland or boring. But that is not so! They are both very exotic flavors when done right. Sure, you see vanilla in everything and tea is highly common these days. But they both have an exotic depth."

"That's true," I agreed. "People used to buy them at high prices when they were harder to come by."

"And I think you are like that," Shrunk said, pointing to me. "Not the buying part, of course! But on the surface, you're polite and quiet, even bland and boring. But I suspect you have more exotic depths if you let yourself show them. Restraint is good, yes, but too much restraint can confine and weaken your true self."

I felt surprised at that analysis from someone who had only met me a few minutes ago. Some of that did match what had been on that card from Rover, the one that identified my flaws and strengths. "Wow, you really are good as a psychiatrist."

He smiled. "That's good to hear!"

"Here you go now," the bartender cow said, passing over two mugs. Over on the stage, the dog picked up his guitar again, sat on the stool, and played a jazzy song.

The chai tea was really good, although I thought the vanilla made it a bit sweet. Maybe less of it, or just straight. I spent a little while chatting with Dr. Shrunk. He talked about his theatre where he put on comedy shows for five hundred bells. At the time, I didn't want to spend the extra money, but I said I might come by at another date and see a show. He had to take off before long, though, as he had business to take care of, so he slipped the coffee into his travel mug and said goodbye to me and Prairie the cow.

As I wasn't done, I listened to the music for a while and watched other people coming in. I eventually moved to a table closer to the stage. The dog was a really good player. And he must have been really passionate too. Although his fur, especially around his eyebrows, was thick and long, he had shaved short a good portion around his hand-paws so that it didn't get tangled up in his guitar.

He stopped once and looked over to me. "Hey there," he said. "Good to see someone appreciating my grooves."

I smiled and nodded my head. "Right; you play very well."

"Because I've followed my heart. What's your name and where's your hometown?"

"I'm Nadia; I'm the anchor of Verdant."

His ears lifted some. "Ah, Verdant… haven't heard of that one. A new place, then?"

"Right, it hasn't been around for long. We're in Chime's district, though."

"I see. I'm known by many names, most commonly as K.K. Slider. I'm a wandering minstrel of a kind, going from place to place, singing for my meals and all. Is there anything in particular you'd like to hear? I have my own songs, but I know a great many more."

"Oh, well…" there was something that, to my surprise, I didn't hear much over the radio. "Do you know anything spiritual, like you'd hear in a church?"

K.K. smiled at that. "Ah, nice choice. Yes, I know many. Here's one I've heard is from the real world, that the humans play." He closed his eyes for a moment, recalling the song. Then he started playing 'Amazing Grace'.

At first, I wasn't sure the song was so appropriate for this realm. But maybe it was. It was about finding light and forgiveness after low times in one's life. It was that kind of grace that gave these animals a chance at heaven. And it was reassuring, that even with Loki's unpredictable antics, love still reigned over all.

When he was through, I clapped a bit for him. "That was beautiful.,"

He bowed his head. "Thank you; I'm glad to play for those who love music."

I smiled. "Can I give you a tip?"

He chuckled, "Oh, no thanks. I don't live by the bell anymore. Kept dragging me down, that lifestyle did. I'm past it."

I thought for a moment, then pulled a small bag out. "Well if you won't do that, I can give you some medicine I have on me. It might help you out."

He brightened. "Ah yes, that would be kind." I got up and gave the medicine to him, then he exchanged it for one of the notes. "Here, take one of my albums in exchange. This one has that song I just played on it. Just keep in mind that I don't got a label so my albums won't sell for anything. But I think music prefers to fly free, you know?"

I thanked K.K., then said goodbye as I had that one last store to check out before I met back up with Tortimer. Full Year Festivities was in a colorful building, decorating with masks of all sorts of holidays. And it was three stories tall, so I could see how they'd have any holiday gear in stock at any time.

At the door, I was greeted by a brown and white hamster. "Hello, hello, and welcome to the holiday store!" he said cheerfully. "May I help you find something?"

I nodded. "Um, yeah, I'm looking for Christmas decorations."

He nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, yes, that would be on the top floor, right side. Just remember to only keep holiday decorations up during the holiday; the HRA doesn't like out of season items!"

There was that term again. "Excuse me, but what's the HRA?"

Surprised, he looked at me curiously. "Oh, right, right, you must be new to the realm. Silly me. The Happy Room Academy is a prestigious organization that teaches you the ins and outs of interior decorating. They will also regularly evaluate your house to see how well put together it is. Their headquarters is right on the plaza, so maybe you ought to check in with them. Or maybe not; it's hard for newcomers to rate very well under them."

"I see. I might hold off on that, then. Thanks for telling me where to go." I headed up stairs.

"Any time, miss," he called up after me.

The room I was directed to had a huge variety of Christmas décor. After walking through an assortment of tress displaying various ornament sets, I found an area of party supplies: special balloons, tableware, tablecloths, and even some springs of mistletoe to hang. I went ahead and bought a tableware set that came in a plastic container; if kept well, they might be reusable for several years. And it would work at our Saturday parties.

Along one wall, there were many outdoors decorations, which I declined to get. Among the indoor decorations, I found something interesting. It was a red and white striped machine that was labeled a personalizer. 'Available only to anchors. Chose any boxed set of fifty tree ornaments, and for a small fee of ten extra bells, this machine will personalize them for your hometown! Give any extras to your local Nook branch and they will be sold for the benefit of your town's enrichment fund. Such ornaments sell very high to certain collectors, so your town may get the unexpected Christmas bonus of a new bridge, a monument, a library, a fountain, or many other wonderful things!'

That sounded like a good deal. I hunted around for a bit until I found the fifty ornament sets mentioned. They were pretty much bulk versions of the smaller set I had bought for myself earlier. Although several looked like good possibilities, I settled on an emerald green glass orb that had an oak tree covered in snow instead of leaves. I then took that box and had the machine print 'Verdant's First Christmas' on them. The machine gave me a special price billing sheet with three price duplicates.

It ended up a little pricy, due to the amounts I was buying, but I told myself that I was pretty much buying them on behalf of the town. At the register, the hamster took off a pink duplicate of the billing statement for the ornaments. "Okay, miss, you should keep the white copy for yourself, give the green copy to your town's mayor, then give the blue copy to the shopkeeper at your Nook branch. That'll keep the records of this particular ornament set."

"Okay, will do." I turned my purchases into leaves (feeling very thankful that I could do that), then left the store.

It was still raining, but Tortimer wasn't inside the auction house. I decided to wait in there, idly observing what they had on sale, but finding nothing that really stood out.

Then Tortimer and Helen came into the auction house. "Ah, you got finished early too, sprout," the tortoise said.

"I heard there was some commotion at the plaza earlier," Helen said. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Loki appeared in this realm and tried to stir up trouble with lightning. Nobody got hurt, so that turned out okay."

"Ah, so that's why the lights went out."

"I suppose we can hear more about this Loki fellow on the way back home," Tortimer said. "Or while waiting on the next train."

At the train station, I put in our request, then went to join Tortimer, Helen, and others waiting on the train under a covered shelter. I told them a bit further about my encounter with Loki, including the information that the tree in our town was just a branch of a much greater tree.

"I think that I've read something about that myth somewhere," Helen said. "It wouldn't be too hard for me to order a couple of Norse mythology books for the library. Oh, and I was talking with Tortimer about it, but what kind of books do you like, Nadia?"

"Well, I like how-to books, so I can figure out how to do things. But when I really want to read, I like fiction: fantasy, mystery, some westerns. I also like some French authors a lot."

"Ah." She giggled. "We can get real world books, certain ones. But I'm afraid we can't get anything in French. English is the only language here, although translations come through often."

I shrugged. "That's understandable. C'est la vie."

"What was that now?" Tortimer asked, prodding me with his hand.

"It means 'that's life'." I leaned back. "I think I must have been a French teacher at some point. I'm pretty sure I was."

"How interesting." Helen smiled. "I've seen pictures of Paris and the French countryside and they're so lovely. Were you ever there? Of course, when I was down on Earth, I couldn't appreciate that kind of thing."

"I may have been. My memory's coming back a little."

The train whistle interrupted us, causing everyone to get up. It was Blanca's train again. Taking a seat near the exit for Tortimer's sake, the three of us chatted on the way home. Helen was a sweet person who could talk on a lot of subjects, but only ones she had read about. She didn't listen to the radio or watch television. I figured that she and Pelly would get along well.

When Verdant was announced as the next stop, we shifted our clothes to winter gear again. Which was good, as it turned out to be snowing as we pulled in.

* * *

Verdant: Wednesday, December 17

The snow was finally deciding to stick to the ground, leaving a light coating over the ground. Most of the non-fruited trees were barren now, but also had a gentle dusting of white. The fruit trees still held onto a few leaves, as well as bearing fruit oddly enough. I wondered briefly what an iced over apple or orange would taste like.

I followed Tortimer and Helen to the town hall, and then into the library. Some garland and several sprigs of holly were decorating the room. Looking over the shelves, Helen rubbed her chin. "My, this is… cozy. And sparsely stocked. May I have the numbers of books I'm allotted to add? And the magazine subscriptions, I'll have to write in bout those."

"Sure, here's my copy of it." He handed over a folder. "I can make another copy for you tomorrow."

"Oh right… Tortimer?" I pulled the billing statement out of my bag and gave him the green copy. "I got some ornaments for everyone and I was told to give you this."

He brightened. "Ah, wonderful! I didn't even think of that, to be honest. It's a good thing, really."

"I'll mail them out tomorrow," I said. "Right now, I've got some things to do yet. I'll see you two around."

* * *

Saturday, December 20

I got to The Roost early in the evening to bring the Christmas décor in. Goose and Rodeo met me in there. "Here, I picked this up in Chime City," I said, opening up the container.

"All right, Christmas gear!" Goose said, smiling. "Now we're talking. I brought in my radio and holiday albums, so it'll be great this week."

"I brought my poinsettias with me," Rodeo said, patting his side bag. "I've got six of them, so here should be enough to go around."

"What, you have six poinsettias?" Goose asked. "Why?"

"Um," the bull blushed, "because I like them?"

So we set up two of Rodeo's poinsettias on the bar, one on the snack buffet, and the others where we could put them out of the way. Goose got his radio hooked up to the speaker system and set the first album to play. Then I started filling the Christmas balloons while the other two worked on crepe paper and the tablecloth.

Brewter came over with a festive sparkling white punch with lumps of red sherbet. "I got some holiday sodas in to, as well as themed drinks at the bar," the pigeon told me. "And half price on cocoas for this week, coo."

"Sounds like a good deal," I replied, tying some snowflake decorated balloons to the poinsettias.

The snow cover was sticking, getting to around an inch deep. Most everyone came in slushy boots, which were taken off at a bin in the museum's lobby, then switched to regular shoes if the person wanted. I noticed Friga and Monique come in together, chatting and laughing. Good, so they were friends now.

Deena and Patty came in together as usual. "I brought in a sweet rice pudding this time, sugarbill," the duck told me, carefully placing a ceramic bowl on the table.

"That's good," I said. "You always bring in such good dishes."

"You think so?" she asked bashfully.

I nodded.

"Well you are a good baker," Patty said, putting her own dish on the table. "But I think this is the closest you've gotten to bringing an actual dessert in."

"I do so bring in desserts," Deena insisted.

"Really, how now? You always bring really healthy stuff. See now I," she took a sheet of foil off her pan, "always bring in definite desserts, like these almond blondies. You bring stuff that's not quite dessert."

"I guess. But, treats are nice every once in a while, but it's better if you can make them a little healthier too."

"Well it's good stuff, so why complain?" I chimed in.

"There is that," Patty said. "What'd you bring this time, Nadia?"

"Gingerbread cookies," I said, pointing to a plate of shaped and frosted cookies. "I found a catalog in my cupboards that said I could order them, but I decided to make them myself."

"Really?" Deena asked. "Wow, that's great. I've seen that gingerbread isn't that hard to make, but it just takes a long time to get them all nice like that."

"It's something I've always done for Christmas."

As usual, Bob tried hitting on every girl there. By now, we found it kind of amusing, so none of us got really mad at him. Sometimes it seemed like he wasn't taking it very seriously either. Someone had found a spring of mistletoe and had hung it near the stage. I felt an inclination to avoid it, although the violet cat was trying to lure other girls there. Goose decided to freak Bob out by sneaking up on him when the cat was under said mistletoe; that was pretty funny.

I talked with Monique and Friga for a while. "I love those cute little ornaments you sent everyone," the cat said, smiling. "I put it right on my tree."

"Yeah, they're a nice idea," I said.

"You'll want to be hanging onto those ornaments, brrrmph," Friga said. "Those can fetch a pretty penny in years to come, especially since they're for the town's first year."

"You must have a lot of that kind of thing," I told her. "Since you move from winter to winter."

"Well, not as many as you'd think," the penguin replied. "I usually end up coming in after Christmas, or in January. It's because I'd like to arrive when the snows are already on the ground. In this case, this place sounded intriguing and I thought it might be nice to wait for a Christmas for once."

"Oh, and Friga's been helping me with my make up," Monique said, now that one of the guys had moved away from us. "I tried some nail polish for the first time." She showed off her red painted claws.

"That's a pretty color," I said. "And you both look great today."

"Thanks," Monique said, smiling and curling her tail.

Friga smiled and nodded. "Oh yes, I thought she was a lovely girl, but could use some help. I worked for Ms. Nintendique's line for a while. Not as a cover girl, unfortunately, but I sold makeup and did makeovers. It was nice, but oh so demanding. Stress like that doesn't help your beauty any."

"I suppose not," I said. "I only wore make-up for special occasions."

"Natural beauty can be nice at times," Friga agreed. "Now you, Nadia, you have such dark hair framing a fair complexion. You could do with a bold pink or red lipstick, or maybe some light eye shadow to bring out your eyes. Or you could try for a goth look."

"I don't think that would suit her personality," Monique said. "Goth's not her type."

"I'd agree with that," I said.

The penguin put her flipper to her chin. "Yes, that does have an impact on what style you should wear. Although, there is simply one style that I cannot stand."

"What's that?" Monique asked.

"The princess look," she said, shuddering. "I mean, it's a pretty fairy tale dream and all, but it's so childish. If you want to be treated as a mature and respectable woman, then I say, you ought to hold yourself like a queen, not a princess."

"I don't know if I'd want to spend the money to look like a queen," I pointed out.

Friga shook her head. "You don't have to spend a lot, dear. You just have to spend smart and have the right attitude. Remember, princesses tend to be dependant, but a good queen can handle things herself."

* * *

_I'm sorry to say this, but Slice of Heaven is going on a temporary hiatus during November. I've got NaNoWriMo to attend to and I didn't get a lot written ahead. But I will get back to this in December. See you then._


	11. Share A Story

**Chapter 11: Share a Story**

Wednesday, December 24

Nookway was a nice store, bigger than Nook'n'Go and looking more like a department store. I had originally come in to pick up some paper and a new pen, but he had a special on a piece called a Classic Buffet. It was a coffee table, actually, but it came with a pretty lace tablecloth and looked quite nice. However, even as a special, it was expensive, so I had to spend the better part of an hour getting enough fish to cover it.

I rearranged my house for a bit, to fit in the new table and recalling that my neighbors were going to visit later on. My house didn't have much for decorations, just the tree. But I could put on K.K.'s album and it felt Christmas-y.

At eight in the evening, I met up with the other villagers near Patty and Deena's houses, as we had planned. It was snowing, so a few had umbrellas while the rest of us just bundled up tight. We did a tour around of everyone's homes, except for Pike who insisted that his place was not interesting and should not be visited. Goose, Bob, and Patty all tried to tease him into changing his mind, but the ferret insisted.

We ended up at my house last, around nine-thirty. "Aw man, my feet are hurting," Bob complained. "It wouldn't be so bad if somebody didn't live all the way around the lake."

"Hey, it's good exercise, buh-kay," the rooster teased him.

I came back in with a tray of hot cocoa for everyone. "Here you go. Sorry about the lack of seating."

"Floor's just fine," Pike said, sitting by a wall near my phonograph.

"So what're we going to do now?" Monique asked.

"Well usually on Christmas Eve, everyone tells a personal story," Friga said. "It can be from your life before, or your life here, whatever you think has the spirit of Christmas to it."

"And normally we'd stay in the anchor's house for that," Goose said. "But, pardon me for saying, but your place is still cozy with all of us in here."

I smiled. "I know it is."

Then he winked at me. "Hey, why don't we go to the secret hollow? That'd be a great place."

"The secret hollow?" Patty asked. "There's a secret place in Verdant?"

"Yeah," I said. "We might want to bring some chairs, or at least blankets. And some good lights; we haven't lit that path yet. But maybe not from your place, since it's so far."

Goose laughed. "Well I thought of it earlier, so I brought my own two couches. Why don't you bring yours, and then we can get something from Rodeo's place, and we should be set."

"Um, sure, I have one that should work," the bull said. "But where are we going?"

"Over to the tree," I said, turning my couch once Deena and Monique got off it.

"Which tree?" Bob asked, puzzled. "There's lots of trees in Verdant."

"The tree," Goose said. "Come on."

So we headed across town, stopping by Rodeo's place for a fourth couch. He had his rose beds marked off with small fences and a sign warning others to be careful around them. But despite the cold, the red, white, and yellow blossoms still held on.

"We'll have to go single file until we're in the cave," I said, once we got near the giant tree. "Careful, it gets a bit rough back here."

There was snow the first couple of feet, but as we went down, it got to warmer. "This place could use lights," Deena said. "It's kind of spooky."

"Like there could be ghosts down here?" Patty asked.

"Oh, I hope not," the duck replied, a bit fearful.

"Don't worry," Goose said, as he brought up the rear of our group. "I'll scare any ghosts off, no problem."

"Do the mists reach down here?" Pike asked.

"No, not that I've seen," I answered.

"I haven't seen them either," Goose added.

"Then what's that light ahead?" Monique asked.

"That's where we're going."

The cave with the glowing crystal was much as I had seen it last. It caused much gasping and awe as the others came to see it for the first time. Goose and I found a decent spot and set up the furniture we had; I had even thought to bring my buffet table so everyone could set their drinks down. Once Rodeo added his, we settled into seats. Monique and I were on my red couch, while Deena and Patty took one of the Ranch Couches. Goose and Rodeo took the other one, while Bob and Friga sat in the Cabin Couch. Pike brought out a cabana chair he had been going to sell and sat in an open corner.

"Anchor goes first!" Bob called out, getting some laughs.

I blushed, but laughed it off. "Trouble with that is that my memory's not quite back. I haven't been here long enough and I don't know if I remember enough to put together a story yet."

"You should have something, though," Goose said.

I considered it, looking at the large mossy crystal. "Well it not quite Christmas material, but I can tell you more about this tree. I've been reading folklore about it."

"That sounds marvelous," Friga said. "It is something special."

I nodded. "Very special. This tree has a name, Yggdrasil, the World Tree. And according to Loki, this is only a branch of it, what appears in Verdant."

"Only a branch?" Rodeo asked in disbelief, which was echoed in the looks of some others.

"B-but this thing is huge," Bob added. "It's bigger than any other tree in Animal Crossing, and it stretches over a quarter of the town."

"And from a corner, no less," Pike muttered.

"On reading more about it, I would agree that it's just a branch," I responded. "According to Nose myth, this tree extends across nine worlds, or realms as we know them. Perhaps it extends to even more and that's all the Nordic folk knew of. Loki just told me that it goes up to the highest heavens and down to the deepest hells. Some people say that it was the first tree, while others say it is the most powerful. It is a force of life and its fruit can grant wisdom, if you can reach the fruit.

"At one level, it is said that four hinds, or deer, live among its branches and eat its leaves, attempting to cause it ruin. But the tree Yggdrasil endures and is stronger. At another level, deep within its trunk, it is said to bind the great serpent, a snake that is so massive, it could swallow the earth whole."

"Oh my gosh," Deena said, shivering. "That's a massive snake."

"Well it was chained down, so it's no threat now," I said. "The legends say that the chains will be unbreakable until the end of the worlds, when there'll be a massive battle to decide the ultimate fate of everything. But then, the Norse people were strong warriors and thought highly of strength and valor."

"So what about this Loki guy?" Goose asked. "Is he really a god or something else?"

I scratched my chin. "I'm not sure exactly what he is. He appears as a mantis person in this realm. The Norse people believed that he was a trickster god, one who was as likely to help you as to humiliate you. You have to be careful around beings like that. But then, I recall there being some amusing myths of him. Maybe when Helen gets in more books on that mythos, you can read them yourself."

"That's good to know," Friga said. "How about you next, Monique?"

"Me?" She turned shy for a moment. "Well… I do have this one memory that's in the spirit of Christmas, I think. It's kind of sad, but makes me happy at the same time."

"Well go on," Patty said.

She smiled at me. "It was back in my old life, back when I was just a kitten. I lived with my mother and two siblings in an old stump. One foggy morning, she took my sister away, planning on moving us somewhere better. She came back and got my brother, but then she never came back for me."

"Aw, what happened to her?" Deena asked.

She shrugged. "I'm not sure. She might have gotten killed. We were near a road, but I don't know where she meant to take us. After I realized that she'd been gone too long, I started crying out for her. She never came. But I was found by a dark-haired human woman. That was Nadia. She brought me into her classroom and kept the students away from me. It was so strange and noisy that I was scared. But then she took me home and made sure I was okay, and we were inseparable after that."

I smiled. "Oh yes. You even came back to class with me when you were older."

"And I even got to know French, although I didn't really speak it. I just understood what Nadia was saying to me in English and French. So how about you tell us a story, Friga?"

She chuckled. "Well all right. I suppose it's only fair. I'll tell you about one of my dearest friends, Joe. He's a goat with black and brown patched fur and if you just happen to meet him, you'd think he was a cranky slob. But no, that's just the image he likes to put on. He's really a good worker, enough that he came in as a town anchor, and he will go well out of his way if one of his villagers is having a problem."

"You remember people like that really well," Patty said.

"Of course," Friga agreed. "When I first arrived in Animal Crossing, I came to his town of Galacia. It was July and I thought it was so hot. I bore it as best as I could, wearing light clothing and staying indoors for the hottest parts of the day. It was okay at first. But then August hit and the weather did something I thought wasn't possible: it got even hotter and drier."

"Summer's not too bad," Rodeo said.

"For you, perhaps," she said. "But I'm an arctic creature and I was unprepared for that heat. It got to where even at night, I felt like fainting after spending too much time outdoors. Well Joe noticed and he did his best to help me. He brought me some fans to use in my home and showed me how to make my room chilly. He came over and checked on me everyday.

"But then, I started getting sick due to the heat. Joe then decided that he liked me, but didn't want to see me suffer like this. So he made contact with a fellow anchor whose town was in January. Joe came to my house, helped me pack up, then stayed up past midnight to take me to the train station. He even came with me to the second town. Sure, he grouched for a while about being up so late, but I could see that he was just joking. He helped me move in, although I was starting to feel better in the colder town.

"Of course, he had to return back to Galacia, but he visited me a few times to make sure I was better. We've been pen pals ever since, and once Galacia got into winter, I moved back for the season. And that's how I've been living since, going from winter to winter, but always returning to Galacia when the season comes in there.'

"I suppose it must be nice to always move back to a familiar place," I said.

"Usually," she replied. "But it seems that most of the faces change, like all the neighbors, and even some of the workers. All except for Joe, of course. His ten year review is coming up and I think he may pass. I'm going to try to be back in Galacia for that Christmas, in case it's the last for that town."

"That would be something to return for," Patty said. "So who next?"

"Ladies first?" Bob suggested, to some chuckles.

"Oh, well," Deena looked to Patty. 'I haven't been in Animal Crossing all that long myself. Just about a year."

"We can both tell about the time we met," Patty said, clapping her hand-hooves together. "That's a great story."

"Right." Deena put her hands on her lap. "Well I ended up moving out of my first town after three months. I just never fit in there. There was a group of close friends to the anchor and it was very hard to get into that group. They planned events together and never told anyone outside their circle. So I ended up moving to Appleton, where Patty lived."

"Well in my town," Patty said when Deena paused, "I had another friend who I'd known for a long time, Robin. We were good buddies, until we had this big argument one day. It was kind of a stupid argument, when I think about it, but we were mad at each other for weeks. I only felt angry at her until she moved, and then I was upset because I missed her. But I don't know where she ended up."

"Robin?" I asked. "I met a bird by that name in Chime City. She works at the main library."

Patty looked surprised. "Does she, how now? Maybe she switched over to being a worker so she could live in the city. Maybe I'll go visit her sometime and apologize."

"You should," Deena said.

"Anyhow, back to when this duckling moved to Appleton," Patty said, "I saw her coming out of the station. Deena looked so nervous that I felt bad for her. So I helped her find a place and get moved in. I really wanted to be a better friend and not get into anther silly argument."

"Well I was kind of scared," Deena added. "I wasn't sure how to make friends and I was afraid it'd be the same as my old town. But Patty helped me out without asking, even showing me things that I hadn't picked up yet."

"Yeah, and after a couple of months, she had her mortgage paid off fully. She invited me over for a sleepover party and that was such fun! We sang karaoke for hours, and played board games and were up pretty much all night. And that's when we said that we were best friends forever."

"That was pretty cool," Deena said. "Um... I want to hear Rodeo's story next."

"Huh, me?" the bull asked.

She nodded. "Yeah, you seem like you'd be an interesting person."

"I'm not sure about that," he said. "Well, um… well chaps, back in my old life, I lived on a ranch. Big ranch, with lots of gentle hills, delicious grass, and beautiful flowers. I was so happy out there, sniffing the flowers and enjoying the day."

"You would be," Pike snarked.

Rodeo missed the sarcasm. "Yes, it was great. But the rancher, he wanted me to be aggressive so he could send me in to the rodeos. You know, where those cowboy types get on an angry bull's back and try to stay on while the bull tries to launch them."

"Why would anyone want to do that?" Monique asked. "It sounds dangerous."

"It is a dangerous sport," I said. "But many people find it entertaining."

"I didn't," Rodeo said. I just thought of my flowers and didn't get mad, no matter how small a cage they stuck me in. Some of the guys were saying that something was wrong with me because I was so docile. But I didn't care. And the rancher's kids liked me because of that. They could come right up close to me while I was in the fields and know that I wasn't gonna hurt them. And I never did hurt anyone. Well, except that once."

"What 'once'?" Goose asked, prodding his shoulder.

"Oh, well," Rodeo blushed. "It was late at night and I was just about to fall asleep when I heard one of the daughters scream. I was awake immediately and went around looking. There was this guy hitting her, trying to get her into his truck. Well that finally got me mad, but I didn't want to hurt the girl. So I charged the guy's truck. That hurt, but I was able to turn and face him. He was as pale as a ghost and tried to run, but fell on the gravel. He twisted up his ankle and banged up his hands and knees. The girl was all right, but that guy ended up in jail. And, I think that might be the reason I ended up here. And, that's it."

"Whoa, that is awesome," Goose said, grinning at him. "You're the man!"

"Uh, yeah, I am a guy. So?"

"I think he means that you're a real hero," Deena said, while some others tried to suppress laughs.

Rodeo shrugged. "Maybe. I was just protecting my friend."

"So what about you, Goose?" I asked, as Rodeo seemed to be done.

"Me, well," the rooster blushed. "I don't have anything to tell that's that amazing."

"But you've got to have something about the Christmas spirit," Patty said.

"Hmm, well, actually, whenever Christmas comes around, I like to go into the city to check the residential database. I find all my old buddies, no matter how long it's been since I've seen them, and send them all Christmas cards." He laughed. "Only thing is, except for my current neighbors, most of them aren't in the Christmas season! One time, I wrote a guy a half joking note along with the card. Angus, he's a really hardcore guy, and strong even though he claims to not be a total road jock, whatever he meant by that. But then he sent me an angry letter back. That upset me for a bit."

"That is rather harsh," Friga said.

Goose smiled, though. "I thought so too, so I wrote him back saying that I didn't mean to anger him and I was just sending a friendly Christmas card, right? Well a few days later, I got a letter back from Angus with an apology and a gift to say that he was sorry. Which, from him, was an unusual thing to do. As it turned out, they had just passed April Fool's Day and my card arrived then. He'd been the victim of a particularly muddy prank and he was just so angered at that that he thought I was playing a prank with my jokes too.

"I ended up writing him back, because some people take April Fools way too seriously and I know how it can be trouble when a prank turns bad. And we ended up being really strong pen pals after that, even if we haven't seen each other in a long time. So I guess we got closer in that, which is in the Christmas spirit, right?"

"Right," I said, smiling back at him.

"Oh, I love pen pals," Bob said. "You get to find out about so many other towns and places, and hear things about people you'll never meet."

"And how about you take the next turn, buh-kay?" Goose asked, nudging Bob from across the couch corners.

"Oh, all right," Bob said.

"And nothing about chasing girls," Pike stated, causing laughs from other people

"Whaaat?" Bob asked, looking shocked but soon laughing too. He fell against the back of the couch. "Aw, but that cuts out all my best material!"

"Surely you have something else," Monique said in a teasing voice.

He sat back up. "There is a fun story about a friend of mine, and how I met him. See, back in my very first town, when I'd been here only six months or so, there was this huge deal when a big time movie producer came in and wanted to film a movie in our town. Cel Brooks, you know?"

"Oh yes, he makes hilarious movies," Deena said.

"Yeah! And he came to my town to film his great piece, 'When Cheeseballs Attack'."

Over by himself, Pike snorted.

But Deena looked shocked. "Oh my gosh, 'When Cheeseballs Attack'? That was a great one!"

Bob grinned. "Yeah! They were doing most of the parts in the studio, but they wanted to do some scenes in a town. And they held an open casting call for a few roles there too, open to anyone in that district. So as you can imagine, there were lots of people who came that day. And I tried out too. They weren't telling us what part they were casting for, and I never did find out what, but the new actor they hired would get to move out to Hollytree, where all the movies are made. But I didn't get the part."

"Aw, you didn't?" Rodeo asked.

He shook his head. "Nah. They said I was too clumsy. I was really upset about it, but then I met a guy who had also been trying out. Cube, he's a penguin. And he told me, 'Don't worry, it was just a bit part. Besides, I hear being an actor is a hard job.' I wasn't sure how, but we did some reading on it, and yeah, the actors have to work long days under bright lights and doing scenes over and over again until the director is satisfied. Now when I think about it, I don't really want to do that. And then Cube and I went out fishing and we got to be good friends. I even moved out to his town to keep hanging with him. He taught me, you know, not to let bad things get you down cause even here, there are disappointments."

"That's a good thing to keep in mind," I said.

"Yeah. So that leaves you, Pike."

The blue ferret gave him a cold look. "Really?"

"Aw, come on, cheer up Pike," Patty said. "It's Christmas Eve, after all."

He grumbled a bit, fidgeting. "Well I haven't been to a Christmas town in a while," he said. "Not since I was last with my girlfriend."

"You had a girlfriend?" Bob asked, pricking his ears up.

"And we were serious about it," he said sharply, as if to counter Bob's rather casual attitude towards flirting. "We were very happy together. Her name was Nadia."

"You dated Nadia?" Goose asked, perplexed.

"She was a swan," Pike said, correcting any mistaken thoughts that it was me. "And she was a lot more chatty, and singing all the time. She sang so nicely, though, that I often told her that she must have really been a nightingale. Swans are supposed to be mostly silent, I believe. She wasn't. But then, after our last Christmas, the first one too, as we'd been dating for just four months, she overcame her faults and ascended to heaven."

"Aw, that's wonderful," Deena said. "It's good when people can finally do that."

Pike's look softened some. "Yeah, I was happy for her for a while. But then she was gone. I thought she might stay for me, to wait, but she was gone."

After a moment of quiet, I said, "Well, you can remember how you were happy with her then."

"Maybe," he said, but he didn't seem to want to talk more.

"Oh, you know what I just thought of," Bob said. "This place is really cool and all, but now we can't get more hot cocoa!"

Most everyone in the cavern laughed. "Sorry about that," I said.

"Hey, did you hear that Brewster is offering cocoas for half price this week?" Patty said. "Do you think he's back open again?"

"I don't know," Goose said. "I mean, their deal can take as long as ours. We can go check, and if not, you all can come over to my place for cocoa."

"Your place?" Friga said. "But you live all the way around the lake."

"You can come by my place then." Deena said.

"Oh yeah, and mine, so we can combine what we've got to make awesome stuff, like mochas!" Patty added.

"Oo, a mocha sounds nice," I said.

"I've never had that," Monique said.

"Well you ought to come try it," Patty said. "Maybe we could even sneak into the town hall to be warm."

"I don't think the clerks would be too happy with us about that," Deena said.

We ended up leaving to check if the café was open. Since it wasn't, we ended up at Patty and Deena's homes for homemade cocoas and mochas. But Pike didn't stick around with us for that.

* * *

_And I'm back from NaNo! I got two chapters squeezed in because I found ideas for them in the middle of the month. I didn't have time until now to edit. So, here you go, and we return to our regular updates._

_I must admit, the title 'When Cheeseballs Attack' came from another person. Not for a movie, but it was a chapter title for another fanfic. If you like Pokemon fics, head over to the Serebii forums and hunt down 'The Adventure of Adventurness' by Missingno Master for some good crackfic fun.  
_


	12. A Christmas Card

**Chapter 12: A Christmas Card**

Thursday, December 25

I ended up sleeping in some, to eight (which was late for me). After the cold night where we'd had the end of yesterday's gathering, I was enjoying my warm house and bed. Besides, the Christmas event wasn't until noon and as it was a holiday, I felt I was all right in lazing around a while.

Christmas… I felt a strong sense of loneliness. I was certain now that I had left behind several people that I had loved. I tried for a bit to remember them, but then I wasn't sure if I wanted to spend my first Christmas in Animal Crossing sad because I did remember.

But then the sun came through the frost coated window and I got up. When I looked out, I could see snowflakes falling slowly outside. I smiled. Of course a place like this would have a white Christmas. I went downstairs, thinking that I would make some French toast as a breakfast treat. I had some old bread that would work, and there were the spices, eggs, maple syrup…

A knock came to the door. I set down my preparations and went to the door. It was Monique, dressed in a cute red and green dress with a Santa hat that had some silver tinsel in its white trim. "Merry Christmas, Nadia," she said to me.

I smiled. "Merry Christmas, Monique. It looks lovely outside, but so cold. Come on in."

"Sure. I brought the presents I got, but I haven't opened them yet." She turned to me after I shut the door. "It's a bit early, but I'm glad you're up. I remember that you would say that it was best to spend Christmas with family, and that I was part of your family, even if I was just the cat… but it's just you and me now, so I wanted to come over."

"Of course, I'd love that," I said, giving her a hug. "I had just come down for breakfast… I'm not even really dressed yet, but you're family, so it's okay." I chuckled. "Come on, I'm making French toast. Of course, that's just the American term. If I remember right, they call it eggy bread… or was that the British?"

Since she didn't like sticky things, I brought out some powdered sugar for her toast, then started making them with Monique. She set her presents by mine under my tree but even while we chatted, she seemed to get distracted in thought from time to time. She seemed to remember more than me.

Especially when she said, "I remember that Christmas was always noisy. Lots of sparkling things I wasn't supposed to touch and colored paper that I could play with, that is, after Christmas morning. And that you always tried to get me into a hat like this." She touched the red one she was wearing. "That's why I'm wearing it today."

"But you'd always shake it off, sometimes before I even got a picture of it," I said.

She giggled. "Well I'm a different cat now."

After we were done, I put the dishes in the sink to take care of later, then went upstairs to get dressed. I still only had my red shoes I had started with, but I had found a nice red dress with a white collar to go with them. Then I put on a clip of holly with some red berries in my hair.

"That looks so elegant," Monique said, admiring my outfit. "What is it? I got this waffle shirt from the Able Sisters, although I'm not sure why it's called a waffle."

"It kind of has a waffle like pattern," I suggested. "Actually, this is called a graduation gown, but it looks so nice that I think it can be used for more than just that."

"Oh yes. So, may we do presents now? This is the first year where I can really get excited about it."

Amused, I said, "Sure."

Due to the way things worked here, all the presents looked the same, just in different wrappings. We found each others presents first and opened them. Monique loved her hand painted chair, saying that it would look so cute and sweet in her home. And she got me a box set of six rather large book volumes labeled 'Tales of Adventure', all in hard cover bindings with artistic lettering.

"Well I knew you liked to read, but I wasn't sure what kinds of books exactly," she said. "But, that should keep you reading for a long time."

"It sure should," I said, and thanked her.

I then got a present from Tortimer, which was a surprise. It was a cloth doll, a human figure that had a patchwork dress and red yarn hair. A note with it said it was for 'the child in your heart', which I suppose was appropriate. It was cute at least, so I set it on my table. And Monique got a mirror compact tin with some powdered blush inside; this was from Friga.

"You're getting to be quite good friends with her," I said.

"Oh yes, we have a lot of fun together," she said, smiling. "She said that in the cities, they have stylist shops where you can get a makeover, depending on if you have hair, fur, feathers, fins, or whatever. It sounds like fun; you ought to come with us when we go."

"Yeah, I might. Just tell me when."

"But then, who's this Jingle person?" Monique asked, picking up one of the two presents she had left. "I don't know anyone named that."

"I heard about him from Bob the other day," I said. "Jingle is one of Santa's reindeer, supposedly, and he comes to deliver presents in Animal Crossing."

"Oh… well, it's not like anyone would deny more presents, huh?" She opened it and came up with an item leaf. She looked at the tag, then grinned. "Oh, great! It's a lovely wardrobe! I got the dresser, but this just gets me closer to having the whole series."

I opened my Jingle presents and ended up with a Classic Clock and a cake shirt. The former I knew would be useful, but I wasn't sure of the latter at first. It looked like a fancy frosted white cake. But, then Monique pointed out that it was a particularly valuable version of the cake shirt because it could be turned into many different articles of clothing, of varying weights. I managed to turn it into a cardigan sweater, which nicely complemented my graduation gown. So I decided to wear that the rest of the day. Monique ended up with a similar variable shirt, a lite polka shirt. It didn't match her waffle dress, but she said she'd take it back home and wear it later.

It was close to ten then, so Monique helped me clean up, then left with her new things. I set the books in my bookcase, then set up the dresser in my lower room. I didn't have much to do to get ready for the noon gathering, so I picked up the first volume of Tales of Adventure and looked through it.

* * *

The day really was lovely outside, with a foot of snow on the ground, icicles in the trees, and a sky of silver white clouds. Snowflakes fell, but not too hurriedly and there weren't many of them. The snowfall itself was probably dying off. Someone had been clearing the paths around town, the ways where most everyone walked. I wondered if it was Goose; it seemed like a job he'd take on himself.

I went to the town hall and, even though the snowflakes were still falling, everyone was gathered there in warm but festive clothes. And it was everyone this time, including Copper and Booker, Phyllis (who was doing her best not to be grumpy on the holiday), and Celeste and Blathers. Helen was there, sitting near the large bonfire that Nook and Tortimer were tending to. Over by the sides, there were two long tables, both covered in large holly decorated tablecloths.

Thinking that this had to be especially tough on the cold-blooded lizard, I went over to Helen. "Hey Helen, Merry Christmas. Sorry you had to move into this season."

She smiled. "Merry Christmas, Nadia. And it's no bother. I usually just stay inside where it's warm, so I can feel at my best. This fire's nice, but sheesh, I'm going through so much moisturizer today." She tapped a nearly empty bottle of body lotion. "I'll have to order more from Nook's when he opens back up later."

"Merry Christmas everyone!" Tortimer called out suddenly, getting cheers and echoing calls from everyone (including me). "It's so wonderful that everyone has had the Christmas spirit to come out and celebrate this wonderful holiday as a town. Now, we've got two great things going on, and possibly a third, but now the great question of the holiday: do we eat the meal first, or open the presents?"

There were a couple of suggestions on both options, and some laughter.

"Well I've decided," the old turtle said, getting everyone's silence, "that eating a meal can be a bit messy, so as not to dirty up any presents right when you get them, we should open presents first. Nadia, if you and someone else wouldn't mind passing out the gifts to everyone." He snapped his fingers, causing one of the tables to become uncovered.

"Sure," I said, then looked to Monique. She nodded and came up with me.

All of the presents were arranged in threes on trays, so we just had to hand the trays to the present's recipients. We would call out whoever had them and they would come up. Except in the case of Tortimer, in which Monique was thoughtful enough to go bring his over to him. And, when I got, "Helen; I'll come over there." The tables were near the edge of the plaza, where it was colder.

She looked surprised. "Really? But I moved in just a while ago, and I didn't participate in this."

"Aw, but we couldn't leave out anyone, could we sprout?" Tortimer asked her.

She blushed. "Oh, thank you. That's very kind."

Everyone waited until all the presents were passed out to start opening them, although some tried to play with the ribbons or peek. But then there was a cheerful atmosphere with occasional squeals and cheers from particularly good presents. I wasn't sure who all three of my gift givers were, but I could guess. I got a fireplace, which I thought would be really nice to set up a reading corner with. And then an outdoor tent with a metal lantern; it seemed off for this time of year, but it might be fun when the weather warmed up. Finally, there was a TV with VCR that came with an order form for a set of stickers. That was the one I had the best guess on.

Then, there was a call that interrupted us. "Sable, Mabel! Yoohoo, Merry Christmas!" There were two people approaching the town hall.

The two sisters were surprised. "Labelle!" Sable went over, soon followed by her other sister. "Oh my, you came! This is wonderful." The two of them hugged.

"You actually got off for a day?" Mabel asked, then received a hug too.

"Oh yes, but sorry I'm late. I wanted to arrive early in the morning."

"Hey there," the other guest said. K.K. Slider was dressed in a blue coat, boots, scarf, and hat. But only thin gloves. His black guitar case was strapped to his back. "I hope you don't mind drop-ins at your party."

"Oh no, you're more than welcome, family or friend," Tortimer said with a laugh. "And you came just in time for our buffet lunch."

"Cool," the musician said. "That's all I require for a day of jams." He waved to me. "Hey Nadia."

"Hi K. K.," I replied, waving to him

Then the lunch table was uncovered, along with some chairs for the other now empty table. Tortimer said a prayer of blessing over the meal, then allowed people to eat now, or later, what ever they felt like. Warming trays would keep the hot foods hot. Some people like K.K., Bob, and Goose went up to eat first.

But I got into a conversation with the three Able sisters."Labelle said you invited her here today," Sable said, patting my arm. "Thank you so much."

"You're welcome," I said. "I just feel that family should be together for this day especially."

"Yeah, this is a great Christmas now," Mabel added. "It's been a long while since we got together for this holiday. Not since you left for the city, if I remember right."

"I'm sorry about that," Labelle said. "I just keep so busy that I forget which time frame you both are in."

"I think we're all that way, to some extent," Sable said. "Do you still keep up with your sewing?"

"Well I do a bit of embroidery and knitting. But Gracie won't let me work on her designs. She's got automated machines for that."

"Oh, machines," Mabel said, rolling her eyes. "No paws, though? You can't really put love into something if you're just having machines make it. Oh, like those funny striped earmuffs you made me that once, Sable. Those had lots of love to them."

"Huh?" the eldest sister asked, puzzled. "Which ones do you mean?"

"You remember? You said they were the first things you made for me after our parents died. The ones with all my favorite colors."

"Oh, those." Sable blushed, then chuckled, "Um, well…"

Labelle giggled. "She was too little then. They were supposed to be mittens because you had cold paws."

"What?" Mabel asked, with a clueless look on her face. "Oh, is that why they had those funny frills on them? But I loved them so much! I love ear muffs now." She touched the plush cream colored ones she was wearing now.

The other two laughed, so I didn't feel bad about joining them. "You were such a sweet girl, our little cutie," Labelle teased her.

"Oh, I did my best, but I'd never made fingered mittens before," Sable said. "I've made sure not to make any silly mistakes like that again."

By the time I'd broken away from the sisters to go get some lunch, I'd noticed that the night workers had already left. It was late for them, so they probably needed the sleep. The two police dogs had left too, presumably because they had a job that never truly ended, or let them take long breaks. And somehow, K. K. had already finished eating and had pulled his chair aside. He had his eyes closed while quietly checking his guitar, to see how it would play under these conditions.

There was quite an appetizing spread for Christmas lunch. But, unusual by what I could think of as normal for this holiday's fare. Some of it was because this was a realm for animals and they weren't going to eat most meats. There was roasted shark, a ham fish with honey sauce, a dish labeled 'Red Pot Wasps- spicy!', another called 'Green Pot Wasps- sour!', and a bowl of various candied seeds and nuts. And then there were more traditional foods: a bread pudding, rice with vegetables, chili, corn chips, rolls, an orange salad, and fruitcake. I took small portions of various things, and even decided to try bits of the two wasp dishes.

But with a good portion of chili with corn chips, of course.

At the end of the buffet table, there was a glass jar with a number of coins in it. An electronic device sat on the rim, securing the lid. The screen of it said, 'Please donate to Verdant's Enrichment Fund to improve our town's look and ratings. Any amount small or large is welcome!' I recalled that it was used to build things like bridges and pathway lights, which would be very useful. But I had to get working back on my mortgage too. I donated a hundred bells to start with.

Pike came up to me as I was about to leave the buffet table. "Hey, you were the one who gave me the bonsai, right?"

I nodded. "Right. How'd you guess?"

"You're the only one whose seen the inside of my house, harrumph." He picked up a plate and took some roasted shark.

"So do you like it?" I asked.

He didn't answer immediately, but when it was apparent I was waiting for one, he said, "My Nadia gave me the other two, which was why I hadn't looked for the third one in the set."

"Oh... well I hadn't known about that."

"I suppose it's better than just something picked up at random," he dropped his voice into a grumble, something about an office locker.

As usual, it seemed like he didn't really want to talk, so I went over to the table and sat with the others. K.K. was soon playing for us, just general Christmas music. And since Bob was near me, I got to call on someone for my gifts. "You were the one who gave me the TV, right?" I asked him.

He looked surprised, then tried to bluff it away. "Well you can't know that…"

I chuckled. "You gave a bunch of stickers too, like you have your set decorated. That was a strong hint."

"Oh, okay, so that was mine." He grinned. "It's fun personalizing your own stuff. That's a pretty good set, just kind of boring looking. The picture quality is good. There's some larger screens out there, but I always find that they stretch the image or make it not so good. Hey, can I come over later today? You owe me a meal and we can watch When Cheeseballs Attack!"

"Sure that sounds fun."

"Great," he said, pleased to hear it. "Ever since I mentioned that story yesterday, I've so been wanting to watch it again. But I ended up watching Christmas shows instead."

The gathering lasted for a long while, with everyone chatting and keeping close to the fire to avoid the chill. Someone suggested a dance, while another suggested a word game. All the while, K.K. took requests and handily impressed my neighbors. "They tell you that only artists with record labels are good, but he's quite ahead of all of them," Tom Nook said.

"And he's not picky about it either, like some music snobs," Deena said. "He told me I could request any kind of genre or style and he would know something in it."

"Hey everybody, can I have your ears for a moment?" Tortimer asked aloud.

"Ew, no," Friga replied.

I chuckled as Tortimer laugh. "Hah hah, no, not that! I've got an announcement to make. Thanks to the sale of town Christmas ornaments and your generous donations over this past month, we have enough funding in the Town Enrichment Fund to build a third bridge! So the big question is, where should it be built?"

"Maybe closer to the cliff above the waterfall?" Monique suggested. "The upper bridge is a little out of the way."

"How about just south of the lake?" I suggested.

"Aw, but that wrecks how distant my house is!" Goose said, getting some laughs.

I smiled. "Maybe it's a good thing. Also, it'd make fishing around the lake easier, as you don't have to spend all the time following the river just to get to the other side of the lake."

"That's the most sensible place to put it," Patty said. "Since you can access anywhere else in town pretty easy, but not the lake or Goose's house. I mean, how many other people are going to want that distant of a place?"

"I guess you're right about that," the rooster admitted.

There weren't many other suggestions, so making the third bridge south of the lake was taken. Around that time, K.K. began putting his guitar away. "It's been real nice hanging with you folks," he said to those of us who were near him. "But I got a promise to keep on another session in another place. I might drop in some other time and jam with you all again."

"Well thanks for coming by, and we'll welcome you back any time," I said.

"That's good to know. Keep it cool, you all."

It was close to two, so the workers started drifting back to their stores. The Able sisters mentioned that they weren't going to be open the rest of the day, so that they could spend the afternoon with their sister. Monique and Friga left together, apparently for something they had been planning to do already. So I went to find Bob. "You going to get that movie of yours? You can come up to my place."

"Oh sure, it won't take long. It's right on my table." So we stopped by his place briefly, then headed up to my home.

He seemed to be thinking as we walked along the snowy path, so I decided to tease him, or cut him off. "Oh, and I'm not really available for dating, so we're just hanging out."

"Aw really?" he asked. "What makes you say that?"

"I just feel like that. I remember someone saying something about not hanging up the mistletoe. I don't know if it was me or someone else, though."

"Well that's too bad, cause you're a nice girl and all… hey, looks like you've got some special mail." His ears were pricked forward, curious.

"Hmm?" I looked over at my house to see a large bird there, thinking. Somehow, he reminded me of an albatross, with his long arms and coloration. He had a large pack at his side. "Hello there," I called out.

He looked up, then saluted us. "Oh, good afternoon. Are you Nadia?"

I nodded. "Yes. Who are you?"

"I'm Ross, the district's long distance postbird," he said, putting his wing to his chest. "I've got a letter for you. Normally, I'd just leave it in your mailbox, but there's something unusual about this one. We don't know where it came from."

"You don't?" Bob asked. "But all the mail goes through the post offices."

"Well yes, except for this one." He handed me a white envelope that he had been holding. "I was getting ready to go on this round, having sorted all the letters I had, when this one just appeared in the out-going mail. And I don't know of any town called Midgard either."

"Midgard?" I asked, looking at the envelope. That's exactly what it said, though, in the return address form. The address label had my name written on it, but it looked as though a different hand had put the town name on it. "That's Norse mythology again… the realm where the mortal humans live. I wouldn't think Loki would use Midgard for a message source." I opened up the envelope.

"Loki, huh?" Ross asked. "I've heard rumors. I hope that isn't anything troublesome."

I pulled a Christmas card out of the envelope. It was a pretty one of a cat and a dog curled up in front of a fire in the brick fireplace, with holly strands and mistletoe and stockings with gifts hung from the mantle. When I opened up the card, there was a letter tucked inside. But the card was signed too and the names there left me in total shock.

Bob had to nudge my arm to get my attention. "Hey, what is it? Who's it from?"

I bit my lip, then told him, "It's from my husband, and our kids."

* * *

_And something major gets revealed..._

_I know some people like K.K. as I wrote him. Give them food and they'll be there with music. Actually, there's a lot of college students who will show up anywhere there's free food too.  
_


	13. Rafflesia

**Chapter 12: Rafflesia**

Dear Nadia:

It's been nearly two months now, since you died. That was the most unexpected thing that's ever happened in my life. You had called to ask if I had gotten some milk and bread, and that you were coming home with Monique from the vet's office. You should have gotten home in fifteen minutes. But that's when I got the call that you were dead.

It's been very hard to deal with. The guy who hit your car shouldn't have even been driving, as he'd gotten his license revoked for drunk driving previously. And he survived the wreck, when both you and our cat died. It's not fair, but there isn't much that can be done about it. We're waiting on the courts to see what happens to him.

My parents moved in with us, to help out. I'm grateful for that, as there are times when I don't know what to do. You're gone and nothing's as it was before. Sometimes it's like I've died myself, but I tell myself that I can't be like that. I have to be here for the kids. They're doing the best they can too, but I can see it's hard for them to cope. Allen is trying to look tough, so he doesn't want to cry in front of anyone. Meanwhile, Lucia keeps asking questions about what happens after death, like when she asked the pastor if you and Monique would be together still.

It was her idea to take one of the Christmas cards and put it at your grave. She thought that your ghost would somehow get it. We went to do that earlier today as it's Christmas Eve. Somehow, that put me into a mood to write you a letter. You remember, I'm sure, how often we wrote to each other during times when we were separated. I don't know if this will help, although I do wish that Lucia's right in that you could read these things somehow. It would be good to know that you were at peace somewhere.

Love, Mitchell

* * *

Wednesday, December 31

The letter and the accompanying card had triggered my memory to return, most of it anyhow. To say that I was in shock would be an understatement. There was just so much I had left behind. My dear husband Mitchell, who was my other half in every way and the only one I had loved so deeply. And our children Allen and Lucia, precious to me even before they were born. And my parents and siblings, my friends, my co-workers… I would have been grieved to lose any of them, deeply so for the ones closest to my heart. But they were the ones to lose me. I was the one who had died and I had lost them all, save one, my cat friend Monique.

She had come over to my house not long after Ross had delivered the letter. It seems that Bob had left to go get her, seeing as she was my closest friend in Animal Crossing. When she got there, she apologized again for not saying anything about it, saying that she was worried about how I would take it. She stayed with me for the rest of Christmas day, trying to help.

All my neighbors had been kind when they had heard about it. Friga had mentioned that this kind of thing happened, but usually the recently dead among animals did not know as many people from their previous life, and wouldn't have had such deep and complex relationships with them. While that is probably true, they did their best, helping me out with daily tasks and being there for me. So I had decided to come out of my house that night. It was New Years Eve and even if the town was only a month old, the new year still came on the first of January.

It was held outside, even though it was biting cold that night. A bonfire had been set up again in the middle of the plaza by the town hall. There was a large, bright, and colorful sign nearby that was counting down the time to the new year. Most everyone seemed a little happy, although maybe not as much as they could have been. Was I dragging the holiday cheer down? I hated feeling that way. But then that would remind me of why I felt so dragged down myself.

As it turned out, it was Bob's birthday tomorrow. Or what they called a birthday. "It's actually the anniversary of the day one has entered Animal Crossing," Deena told me. "The towns may have different times, but your watch will keep track of when your yearly anniversary comes up. Which one are you on, sugarbill?"

The purple cat smiled, curling his tail. "It's my seventh year of being here. So, nothing really special like the tenth, but still cool."

"What's so special about the tenth?" I asked.

"Oh, every five years, the judges arrive to assess how you are doing and see if you need to be placed anywhere in particular for special help," the brown duck explained. "But I haven't been around long enough for that to happen to me."

"It's a bit nerve wracking, actually," Bob said, fiddling with his white scarf. "I mean, the judges make it fairly obvious when they're around and they judge you in front of an open audience. So whenever one comes up here, Nadia, you need to be especially respectful then."

I nodded. "I'll keep that in mind, thanks."

But I didn't feel too connected to the celebration, and I only gave some bells to Bob for his birthday. He seemed to be okay with it. I hope so.

* * *

Sunday, January 4

The morning stared off with a surprise visit from Rodeo. I let him in; I had been cleaning up my house, but I had run out of things to do there. I felt so empty and restless, yet on starting anything new, I didn't have focus or energy for that either. I even began to feel strange again by being in a town full of animals, with no way of making human contact possibly ever again.

But even in that mood, I noticed the bull kept brushing his white hair aside and glancing out the window. "Is something the matter?" I asked him.

"Um, well, yes, actually," he said, nervously tapping a hoof on my table. "I'm sorry, Nadia, I know it's been tough on you. But you've got to come out and help. You're the only one who can do anything about it, chaps."

I was puzzled, but he seemed serious about it. "About what?"

"About that weed, chaps," he said, shrinking back.

"That weed?" I glanced outside, but frost and fog was covering the panes of glass. "Weeds aren't that hard to take care of."

"Normal weeds, but this one isn't normal. It's a rafflesia. I've read about them before and seen pictures, but this is the first one I've ever seen in person. And… well, come out and you'll see why you're the only one that can deal with it. But dress warm; it's cold today."

It was something else to do and he seemed greatly concerned about it, so I consented. I made my cake shirt into a long and heavy coat, then put on boots, gloves, a hat, and a scarf. Rodeo put his things back on too and we went outside.

One of the first things I noticed was that things seemed different outside. It was just the temperature of the winter air, but it was cold and biting, the kind of weather that encouraged you to go back inside and mourn the loss of warmth and life. Even the flowers along the way didn't seem quite as cheery as before. Not wilted, just struggling. And there were a number of the brown weeds around. Rodeo still moved me on, towards his house.

We went across the bridge, then headed south, as Rodeo was near the top of the cliff. His rose gardens were spread out there, but I soon saw the strange weed. At first, it was just the stench of it; it smelled strongly of sulfur, like eggs gone bad. It looked like some kind of alien plant, with large red petals that had purple spots and dark green fuzzy leaves. And the thorns it had were long and hooked. If those got into your skin, they would dig in and not want to come out. It also had strange black leaves with it, thin like the weeds. Flies surrounded the blossom, buzzing and not afraid of us.

Coming closer, I saw that the roses closest to the rafflesia were looking quite pale and sickly. Strange; I had always heard and used the phrase 'weeds are choking my garden', but had never seen it happening literally. But that seemed to be exactly what the weed flower was doing to Rodeo's roses. "That does seem to be a really nasty weed," I said.

And then the flower turned right towards me, causing me to stop. It had no face, but I heard it cackle at me. "You don't belong here, strange human," the flower said to me. "But you can never return, and never fit in." It cackled even harder.

Rodeo took my arm at that point, pulling me back. "Careful, chaps. Don't listen to it."

"We've got a talking weed now?" I asked.

"Yeah, that's a thorny rafflesia," he said. "That's one flower that even I don't like. There's two kinds of weed flowers, the regular rafflesia which appears when people don't take care of their lawns and town landscape. And then there's this thorny one." He bowed his head. "Nadia, it only appears when an anchor has fallen into deep sadness. Both kinds of weed flowers can be taken care of if all the other weeds in a town are pulled. But, you have to be in on this too, or it'll just appear in another place tomorrow, bringing back all the regular weeds that were pulled."

"It's just a fairy tale," the rafflesia muttered. "Nothing you can do will be of any consequence."

It was like the weed flower was giving voice to my own doubts. But looking at Rodeo, concerned for me and his flowers, I remembered that I had responsibilities here now. As much as I missed those I had left behind, I had to consider those with me now too. I nodded. "Okay. We'd better get to work weeding, then."

He cheered up. "All right! It looks to be really hard, but if it gets rid of that stinking weed, then I'll do my best."

As we were already there, we started around Rodeo's house and garden, plucking the brown weeds out of the ground. I had to leave the area around the rafflesia to the bull, as the weed flower did not seem interested in taunting him, just me. At first, it seemed like this would be a long dragging chore. But, I was doing something instead of moping and that made me feel a little better.

And then Rodeo called over to me, when we were back near the bridge. "Um, there's this black one here that I just can't get a grip on."

"You can't?" I asked. I got up and went over to him.

He nodded and tried to pull at one grouping of black leaved weeds. They slipped right through his hoof. "I can't even feel it."

"I might have to," I said, then bent over and grabbed it.

Right as I did, I recalled my children. Allen and Lucia had to be upset. My son was about thirteen, so it made sense that he would try to be tough through it. And my daughter was just seven; perhaps she could imagine me in a place like this, but she would want me with her instead. Once I let go of the weed, the thought started to fade.

"What is it?" Rodeo asked me.

Before I could answer, a third voice called in, "Having weed issues? I told you they'd take over, harrumph."

I looked up to see Pike there with someone I hadn't met yet. He was a white wolf that was tall and lean, wearing a bulky white sweater, dark brown pants, and fur-topped boots. Oddly, the wolf was looking at the black weed. "Is this due to a thorny rafflesia?" he asked gruffly.

"Yes, it is," Rodeo said. "It's invaded my rose garden."

"I told you so, Pike," the wolf said, crossing his arms over his chest. "There wasn't nearly enough weeds when I moved in yesterday to account for a regular one."

He was a new neighbor. I felt embarrassed, but got over to greet him. "Oh, you moved in? I'm sorry; I should have met you sooner. I'm the town anchor, Nadia."

The white wolf nodded and shook my hand. "The name's Fang. Pike and I go back a ways and I came here because of him. So the weed's showing you things, huh?"

On some level, that struck me as kind of funny, but I didn't feel up to being amused. "Yeah. Sorry, but I had recently regained my memories of my old life, including my family."

"Oh, so you've lost your parents?" Fang asked.

"Yes, as well as my husband and kids," I answered. "I was quite a bit older than the ten year old I appear to be."

"Well you have nothing to be sorry for," he said. "You didn't mean to die when you did. The one that ought to be sorry is that insensitive jerk of a weed flower!"

"I guess so?" I said, uncertain. He seemed mad.

The wolf nodded. "Think about it. What right does that plant have to taunt you about the ones you left behind unwillingly? Especially to tease a mother about the children she may never see again."

"Fang?" Pike said quietly. His friend's outburst seemed to have struck a chord with him too.

Fang went on though. "It's just another monster from the mists, trying to tear a hole in this place by taking advantage of you. So I say, you ought to be really mad about the way it teases you. And you'd have every right to be that way. Then rip that stinking black weed out of the ground, cha-chomp, so that the main problem of the thorny rafflesia has less of a foothold within this town."

"You do have a point," I said, turning back to the black weed.

It didn't have to remind me of how I missed my kids; it was just being cruel in doing so. That made it no different than the mist monsters that had tried to kill me and Monique before we met Rover. I went back over and grabbed the black weed. It tried to sting me with my own sadness again, but I didn't let it. I yanked it out of the dirt, causing it to dissolve into black pieces, then white mist. That disappeared shortly.

I turned back and bowed to the wolf. "Thank you, Fang."

Smiling at me (and showing off his teeth), he nodded. "Anytime, Miss Nadia. This place can be a little too cheerful at times, so I'm always glad to spread a little crabbiness."

"Will there be more of those black weeds?" Rodeo asked. "We've only gotten this small piece of land so far."

"I would guess there would be more," I said. "We should get back to work weeding."

"We'll join you, then," Fang offered. "I might be new here, but this is my town now; I'd rather it not be all weedy."

"Sure enough," Pike added. "At least the brown ones that we can touch."

The next black weed was over near Monique's house on the tree's hill. It tried to tell me that Monique was a shallow friend and that the stigma of once being my pet would ruin our relationship. While that worried me, I wanted to be able to work it out. With that thought, I was able to defeat that weed. Then Monique herself came out of her home. "What's going on, pffffft? The town seems so gloomy today for some reason."

"We've been invaded by a weed flower from the mists," I told her. "It came because I've been at a loss over what's happened; we have to get rid of all the weeds, but I'm the only one that can get rid of the black ones."

"And it tries to make her feel worse so she can't do anything about it," Rodeo added. "Would you help too?"

Her eyes widened. "What? It tries to hurt you?"

I nodded. "It tries to get me to give up, so it can break up the town."

"Hmph." Her ears tilted down in anger. "Well it must be an exceptionally rude weed. All right, so we just need to pluck all these brown ones?"

"And tell me where the black ones are," I said.

"There's another one over here," Pike called out, from the top of the hill.

"Okay," I called back and went up to deal with it. It turned out to be a fairly weak one, bugging me about being a human among animals. That didn't bother me quite as much as the two prior.

After we cleared the upper level west of the river, we went over to get the upper east half where my house was. There were four of the black weeds near my house, taunting me with a variety of issues, like how unrealistic this realm was compared to my old life (but it was real within itself) and how, as an anchor, I had to support everyone else while they could just be concerned with their own development. That latter concern did seem unfair, but I countered it by thinking that while it might be unstated, if they were only concerned about themselves, the animals would likely make little progress.

But having so many so close got my mind to racing. The doubts the weeds brought up drifted in and out of my thoughts, while the pain of the loss was feeling sharp in my mind. As we headed back towards the ramp and I recalled that we'd probably only weeded a third of the town so far, I started feeling overwhelmed. Monique must have noticed, as she was soon by my side, holding onto my arm. "Do you need to take a bit of a break, Nadia?"

"Maybe," I said, rubbing my forehead. "They're finding a lot of things to fuss about. I'm trying to keep it all straight."

"We'll keep working on the brown ones," Fang said, waving to us as we headed down the ramp.

I nodded to the wolf, pausing at the bottom to collect myself. Monique stayed with me. "Our family was really wonderful," Monique said to me quietly. "I miss them still, especially at nights. They must miss us too, but we just have to accept what's happened."

"Yeah," I said, hugging her briefly. "I do wish that I could get a letter to them, like Mitchell's letter reached me. I'm not sure how to manage that, though. He couldn't have mailed it. Somehow it got here." I touched choker on my neck, then looked up to the sky, where I could see the branches of Yggdrasil overhead.

"Maybe he just wrote it like a journal?" she suggested, shrugging.

"Maybe." I looked to her as she ran her claws through the blond hair that hung over her white fur. "Monique, is it odd for you being friends like this when you were once my pet?"

Her ears twitched. "Oh, well... sometimes. I do like things better this way and I wouldn't want to return as just a cat, if that were somehow possible." The cat woman smiled at me. "And it's so much better that we can actually hold a conversation instead of having two one-way talks at once."

That made me smile. "Yeah, that's a definite plus. Thanks; that was something the weeds said. We'd better get back to this hunt, then."

"Hey girls, hold up!" Goose came running across the bridge. "Sorry, but we need your help. There's a thorny rafflesia somewhere, we think."

I nodded. "It's up by Rodeo's rose gardens," I told him. "He came and got me earlier. He, Pike, and Fang have been working with us to clear the upper level."

He smiled. "Oh good! Me, Patty, Deena, and Bob have been working down here, but we can't pick the black weeds. But we know where they are around here."

I took a deep breath, then nodded. "Okay. Show me where."

While it took time and still was rough, the remaining black weeds were not quite as strong as the previous ones. Perhaps taking out the brown ones had weakened their power to hurt me. The black ones wanted me to think that I could be overwhelmed, that I might not ever be rid of my sadness and that the losses I had suffered to get here would haunt me forever. Knowing that they just wanted to hurt me, I took some solace in thinking that perhaps they were lying and I could be truly happy again. Maybe not immediately, but eventually.

And I took great satisfaction in ruining the weeds.

We rechecked the lower area of town and Bob managed to find a hidden black weed near the town hall. But that seemed to be the last of them there. Fang then suggested that we go back to see the rafflesia itself. The strange red flower was still there, affecting the roses close to it. But it had lost its thorns and the black weeds that had surrounded it.

"Its power over the town is broken," Fang explained. "Now you just have to pull that one. But it will try once more."

"Be strong," Monique told me, patting my shoulder.

I nodded, then walked back up to the rotten weed. Its stench was not as strong, but it was trembling as if angered. I heard it hiss at me and then…

_Mitchell was sitting at his desk, showing me some of the places he was looking into. "We can leave the kids with my parents; I'm sure they'll all be happy with that. So it would just be you and me there."_

_ I leaned over and put my arm around his shoulders, resting my head on his. "Our anniversary isn't for another few months, dear."_

_ Smiling, he clasped one of my hands. "But we can get a good deal now, and it'll be our fifteenth. I've sworn that I was going to make up for that shoddy honeymoon we ended up with and we may as well do it then."_

_ Chuckling, I squeezed his hand. "And I always said, I'll love you no matter what."_

_ "And I love you enough that I want to give you the best that I can." He paused on one offer. "Look, we can get into a private beach with this place."_

_ It did look beautiful. "I've never seen the ocean for myself, actually."_

_ "If you want, I'll take you there."_

"You left much undone," the flower whispered to me. "He will be crushed and you will only be able to watch him through his secret letters."

It nearly made me cry, but I remembered what Fang had told me. "He wouldn't want me to get stopped by some cruel and heartless weed," I retorted, grabbed its now thornless stem tightly and pulling it out of the ground.

The rafflesia gave a cry of indignation, but as soon as it was out of the ground, it disintegrated into white mists that were banished by the strength of the town.

I felt quite drained from the emotional attacks of the rafflesia and its black weeds, but my neighbors insisted on not leaving me alone after that. I did feel grateful for that. Goose and Rodeo stayed out initially, as they were checking over the latter's roses. Some might die the next day, but they seemed certain that most would survive. But my other neighbors, my new friends, they brought me over to The Roost and we hung out for several hours.

A resolve was forming in me not to continue hiding away with my loss. So I started telling them about me, about my husband and our children, what we had hoped to do with the love that we shared. I hadn't really told a personal story on Christmas Eve, after all, and I knew a lot about most of them. They seemed quite interested. The animals live a life here that is like the humans, yet they wanted to know how I really lived back in the regular world.

In telling my story, I knew that I had spoken right. My family wouldn't want me to be ruined by despair, and I didn't want it for them either. But how could I let them know that I was all right, and forging a new kind of life?

* * *

_I myself have never seen the rafflesia. If my towns are ever neglected that long, I tend to just restart the game! But it's another aspect of the game I thought could be interesting to incorporate._

_Fang was a requested neighbor; however, I think the request was sent to me in a site message, as I can't find who requested him (and I know s/he asked for another...). But he fit nicely in with what I wanted for the role. I have twelve neighbors planned for Verdant including current residents, heh. The new ones will come in slowly as others move away.  
_


	14. A Girls Only Outing

**Chapter 14: A Girls-Only Outing**

Saturday, January 17

The thorny rafflesia didn't return, but I went back to my daily weeding to keep a regular one from showing up too. Getting back to work helped me work through my troubles, as well as pay off another stage of my mortgage. That got me to what Nook called the largest floor size, which was indeed a major increase in space. It also expanded my kitchen area to include a small eating area. I still had to find a suitable table and chairs for that area, but it was nice to have.

And then Monique and Friga mentioned again their plans to go up to Chime City for an afternoon out. They were mainly interested in checking out the salon, but I mentioned the theatre and how it might be nice to go see a show there. Then we decided to invite Patty and Deena along to make it a girls' outing. That's how the five of us ended up at the train station early one Saturday morning to go visit the city.

* * *

Thursday, May 22

Chime City

The sunny weather in Chime was warm to those of us who were coming in from a winter town, although a number of animals around us were wearing light jackets and long sleeves. Being sensitive to any kind of heat, Friga had come prepared with a lightweight blouse, a loose skirt, and a paper fan. The rest of us just put away our coats and other winter gear.

"I've always loved Chime City," Patty said, grinning as we walked to the fountain plaza. "There's always something going on, how now. Oh, and it looks like we came at a great time!"

"Are they having the flower festival?" Deena asked, curious.

And indeed, that's exactly what was going on. The circular plaza was crowded with vibrant and lively displays of all kinds of flowers. People were wearing fancy and elegant clothes with flowers for accessories. On every building, there were greenery garlands and flower wreaths. Even in the fountain, there were water lilies on display.

"How lovely," Friga said, glancing at her orchid print fan. "Too bad we weren't warned or we could have come up with appropriate attire."

The cow clapped her hands. "Well we are going to the salon anyhow, and I'm sure they'll have flower print dresses on sale for the occasion. It's still early; let's go!"

Given that most of the places actually on the plaza were rather expensive, we went to a department store called Nookingtons a short ways down a side street. It must have been part of the Nook family network, but it was way more extravagant than Tom's current Nookway. It had colorful tile floors, beautiful wooden display tables, large advertisement screens, and several tanuki workers in classy blue suits. "Welcome to Nookingtons!" the one near the door said to us as we came in. "We have our special Flower Festival Sale going on now, so all seed packets, flower-themed items, and other specially selected merchandise are on a limited time discount."

"Told you so," Patty said. "Do you have a clothing department, Mr. Nook?"

He nodded. "Of course, of course. Head on into the room in back, ladies."

Their clothing department was well kept, with a row of fitting booths in back. That struck me as a little odd at first, as with how clothes changing worked here, no one was embarrassed to switch clothes out in the open. But it seemed that the booths also had large mirrors inside for viewing, so perhaps it was to cut out any reflection glares. There were also plenty of flower themed clothes and accessories to choose from. For a while, we had a great time in just trying out different clothes. Especially Patty, who had no qualms about taking the loudest and gaudiest shirts in the store to try on, with wacky accessories to boot.

Then Monique found a pair of lovely kimonos, white background with pink cherry blossoms, then with red ribbons as trim. I had never worn a kimono before, but I had heard that real ones took some work to get on right. These ones went on as simple as any others, just turning the pattern into our clothes. As we both loved the kimonos, we decided to buy those and match each other for the day. While she couldn't match the gold tree choker I had, we were able to find flower crowns of cherry blossoms to match the kimonos.

Deena had found a cute rose sky shirt and had turned it into a sun dress, but the other two were still looking for something to buy. So Monique, Deena, and I went to look around the rest of Nookingtons to see if there were any interesting deals around. There were some pretty flower shaped tables with matching chairs, like the daffodil set that was bright yellow. But then I found something of more interest to me, a small black camera.

"Oh, that's a nice model, sugarbill," Deena said. "Is it on sale too?"

"Looks like it," I said. "This would be really nice to have today. I was thinking that it was unfortunate that Rodeo would miss out on the city's flower festival, but if we can take pictures, that might make up for it."

"That would be good," Monique said. "Maybe we can find a special rose around too, as he did lose several to the rafflesia."

The duck smiled. "Yes, but we might want to check out the flower breeders later on. They'll have flowers that you couldn't buy in a Nook store."

Just then, a young tanuki came up to us. "Good morning, ladies. Is there something I can help you with?"

"Yeah, I was wondering how to print photos in this realm," I said. "I'd like to buy this camera, but I also want to use it for today's festival."

He smiled. "Oh yes, that's a grand idea. In order to do that, you need to buy an album with your camera. Once the two items are linked, then any photo you take with the camera will appear in the album. You can erase photos from there, or print them for a fee of one bell. They'll automatically come with a plain photo frame that can be stood on a table or hung on a wall."

Considering the sale price on the camera, that sounded like a good deal. The albums were not discounted, but they were still a good deal; I picked out one that held a hundred and twenty-eight photos. Then we met with Patty and Friga back downstairs. The latter had found a water lily blouse and a brown skirt which was quite a refined look even on the large penguin. On the other hand, Patty had picked out a dress with bright yellow roses printed on it, as well as an oversized straw hat that had a mound of silk flowers covering it. It seemed a bit much, but she was acting like she was having a grand time, so I wouldn't ruin her fun.

From there, we went back to the plaza to reach the salon Friga liked. Called the Elegant Poodle Parlor, it was a very pretty place. They had vases of pink and white flowers for the festival, but they seemed fairly quiet. The air smelled of lavender, with faint undertones of the beauty supplies they used for their customers.

We were greeted by a girl who looked like a Scottish terrier. "Good morning, ladies, welcome to the Elegant Poodle Parlor," she said cheerily. "You came at a good time, as we're packed with reservations later on today."

"That's wonderful," Friga said. "Would you be able to handle all five of us?"

"Sure, sure," she said, going over to a desk. "A makeover session is three thousand bells and that includes all of the services listed on the board here. We also have spa sessions, but those are reservation only."

"Three thousand each?" Deena asked, a bit stunned. "That's quite a lot."

"It's a bargain deal, though," Friga said. "These girls are trained to pull off any fashion or style with anyone. They'll make you look and feel your best."

"Certainly," the terrier said, smiling to have a customer's support.

We went ahead and paid for it, and the terrier figured out who should help us. I got paired up with a poodle who had curly pink fur. "Oh, good morning, sugar," she said, putting a brush into one of her apron pockets. "My name is Harriet."

I shook hands with her. "Good morning. I'm Nadia."

"My, this should be interesting," she said, touching my hand. "I've never worked on a human before." Then she chuckled. "It should be obvious, of course. But you look quite nice; I should be able to work with you well. And I love your hair; with this kind of hair, we can do a lot of different styles. What do you like?"

"I like hairstyles that are not too much fuss," I said. "Although sometimes it is fun to look nice."

Harriet chuckled. "Of course. Well if you take off your flower crown, I can start on the shampoo and conditioning. Your hair seems like a fine sort; we can see if we can make it look fuller. Would you like the hair color changed today?"

I considered it while taking off the crown and reverting it to a leaf to put away. "What kind of hair color can you do?"

"Just about anything you can imagine," she replied. She pulled out a large chart from somewhere and showed it to me. "I can also highlight areas or do a fringe dye. These are the most common colors, I find."

On the chart, there were various animals who, like Monique and Rodeo, had a head layer of hair over their fur, feathers, or whatever. And there were all sorts of odd colors, like blue, green, and pink. Some others were more natural, like blonds, blacks, or even white. "I think I'll just stay with my dark brown," I told her. "But if you could put in some lighter highlights so that it doesn't look so flat, that would be good."

"Oh, certainly," she said.

At the end of my session, I ended up with my brown hair tied up into a bun at the back of my head. Harriet also demonstrated some lighter makeup that good if I didn't want to be obviously wearing it, but wanted to smooth out my skin's appearance. I met up with the other girls then; they were a whole range of styles from Deena who hadn't made things too obvious like me to Monique who was wearing bold red lipstick and glitter blue eye shadow (the latter of which worked well with her amber orange eyes). Now that we looked more festive, we went out to check out the flower festival going on.

* * *

There was a lot to do, a lot to see, and a lot to buy around the plaza and other streets where booths had been set up. Many of the displays were of flower breeders or arrangers, showing off their skills with colorful and elegant displays. I found one vase that included a gold rose with some greenery and baby's breath flowers. And like my friend had told me, this rose seemed to be made of solid gold, from the petals to the stem. Next to that particular vase, there was a notice saying that the arrangement was not for sale.

I got the attention of the cardinal woman who had made all the arrangements. "Excuse me, m'am, but how do you get this gold rose to grow?"

She chuckled. "I'm sorry, hon, but I can't tell you that. It's a trade secret. You have to become really good at the art of flowers to be able to acquire a gold rose."

"But it's for a friend of ours, how now," Patty said. "He's really into flowers."

"Well if he's ready to get one, he should be able to figure it out," she told us.

We left that booth then, with Patty scowling. "Oh, how rude! We just asked about it."

"I suppose the gold rose is a sign of accomplishment," Deena said. "So maybe they don't talk about it because of that."

"Wait," a vice from the crowd called. Several people looked, but the short blue and red bird came up to us. "Patty?"

"Robin?" She cheered, shaking hands with her old friend. "Oh my gosh, it's so good to see you again! Look, I'm really sorry about last time. It was a stupid argument and I shouldn't have been so stubborn."

Robin smiled. "It's okay, dear. I want to apologize too. It really was dumb. What are you doing here?"

"Oh just visiting with the girls in my town," she replied, then pointed to us. "These are two friends of mine now, Deena and the anchor Nadia. Monique and Friga are around her somewhere too."

"How fun," she replied.

"What about you?"

"Well, I live and work here now, at the library. But I took the day off for the festival. There's going to be a singing contest this afternoon." She clapped her wings together. "Hey, do you want to enter too? The sign-ups are going on right now."

Patty hopped u a bit. "Really? That's awesome! Hey Deena, want to sing with us too?"

"Oh sure, if that's all right," the duck said shyly. "Will they let a trio in?"

"I believe so," Robin said. "What about you, Nadia?"

I shook my head. "Sorry, I'm not that good of a singer. But I'd love to come and watch."

The three of them went off to decide on a song, sign up, and then practice, so I found the other two and stayed with them. We were discussing where we would want to eat lunch at when we walked in front of a store with dark purple curtains in the windows, behind a display of occult objects. Unlike the other stores, this one appeared to have no name, simply a sign that read, 'Fortunes told and mystical charms sold inside. Come inside and wait in the foyer to be called.' A second sign that had a white lily attached stated, 'Love fortunes and some charms discounted for the flower festival. Please inquire within.'

"Oh, a fortune teller," Monique said. "I saw a program about one not that long ago. Some are good and some are just cheaters. Is this one all right, do you know?"

"Katrina?" Friga asked, putting a fin to her beak. "From what I've heard, she is really good. Although if she's offering a discount, it probably wouldn't hurt to give it a try."

"What, do you want to?" Monique asked.

"Do you?"

I chuckled. "Well if you want to test her, we could try having her read my love fortune. It could be fun to get yours done too. That is, if you don't mind going in together."

Monique smiled and swished her tail slowly. "Well I can trust both of you, I know."

"How true," Friga said. "All right then, let's see what this lady is capable of."

Entering the shop, we came to a small room with plush white couches around. Silver stars were hung from the ceiling, while soft lighting and a scented candle gave the foyer a feeling of otherworldliness. We have just entered when a female voice beyond the next silk curtained door called out, "Enter, if you please."

The next room was large but dim, lit by several flickering candles. There were several odd scrolls n the wall, showing astrology charts and other odd things. In the center of the room, there was a large round table with five chairs. At the other end, there was a black cat wearing a beaded headdress and a silk gypsy-styled dress. She had a slightly bluish crystal ball in front of her.

"Hello, Miss Katrina," Friga said. "We came in to see about your love fortunes."

She nodded. "Certainly, if you think your friendship is strong enough to trust each other. Today, love fortunes are forty bells. Will you take that price?"

"Sure," Friga said, while us other two nodded.

After looking each of us over, the cat put her paws on her crystal ball. "Then quiet your minds so that we may call upon the spirit world to see what love may hold in store for you." She looked into the ball and softly chanted strange words. The 'ke ho ma ta ra,' or something like that, didn't sound like any words I knew of. And then something seemed to electrify the air, causing the hairs on the back of my neck to stand on end. Monique was twitching her whiskers and Friga looked momentarily spooked before regaining her normal composure.

"Three different girls," Katrina said, looking at some strange motions in the ball. "Three different ways. Petals on a steam, a pale rose bud, a tulip in the snow." Then she looked to me. "You have lost your love to no fault of your own, or his. There is no chance of reconnection; it was until death do you part, which has happened."

"That's true," I said softly. She had to be an authentic fortune teller, I thought.

She trailed a finger across the ball, not using her claw. "The break is a burden to you both, one which you will both have to learn to deal with. And yet, there is a way to make contact. But just once. Write a letter that speaks the truth of your heart and set it upon a plant that reaches across both worlds. It will only cross once your way, but may cross other times his way if his heart grows strong. Think it over carefully."

Only once? I would have to consider that carefully, so as to encourage him. "All right, I will. Thank you."

She nodded once, then turned to Monique. "As for you, young cat, romance may lie close in your future. Or not. It will be at a delicate stage where one misstep will cut off that chance before it blossoms. Be willing to forgive the faults in others, and yourself, if you hope to see that happen."

At that, my friend blushed. "Oh, really? I could try that."

"It couldn't hurt to try," Friga said, patting her arm.

"Of course," Katrina agreed. "As for you… romance is not for everyone. You seem to feel this way. There is nothing wrong with that, as a person can be happy with many friends, but no significant other. If you seek romantic love anyhow, be willing to put your pride in check; your standards are unnecessarily high and you would find no one if you kept being picky."

"Perhaps," Friga said, shrugging.

"That is what the spirits show me of you three," Katrina said. "That will be a hundred and twenty bells for the three of you."

We paid her and thanked her for her insight (at least I did), and we left the fortune shop.

* * *

A few hours later, we came to the coffeeshop on the plaza. There were a few groups in the competition, with a lot of solo acts. Patty, Deena, and Robin all sung a song called 'Off to Adventure', which was about a group a friends who decided to find an adventure in their own town, to make things more exciting. They looked like they were having great fun. And they did well enough that they won, getting a thirty thousand bell prize to split as well as a small trophy for each. I decided to buy them a dessert of their choice from a nearby bakery to celebrate.

After that, we had to leave to get back to Verdant before the sun set there. While Patty and Deena were saying goodbye to Robin, Monique, Friga and I went back to one of the breeder booths to buy a new rose for Rodeo. The breeder was offering all kinds of hybrid colors for sale (although not gold), but we agreed that he would rather grow his own. Instead, we bought a peach colored climbing rose which would climb up the side of a house if well cared for. I did make sure to ask if it would be okay to bring into a winter season; the breeder said that it should be fine if placed by a warm house. We also picked up some peaches to plant, as they were at a good price in one booth.

* * *

Saturday, January 17

Verdant

Back home, we walked over to Rodeo's place with the climbing rose, still chatting and laughing from our conversations on the train ride back. It hadn't actually snowed for a few days, but with as cold as it had been, the snow cover crunched hard under our feet and paws. The river still ran clear, but apparently rivers and small ponds rarely froze.

But on our way to his house, we found Rodeo in his garden. Despite the cold and snow, he was asleep there. We smiled, trying not to laugh and wake him up. "My goodness, how can he stand sleeping outside?" Deena asked, concerned. "He might get sick."

"Guys can do the craziest things without thinking," Friga said. "What should we do about the rose?"

"I don't want to leave it out here," I said. "But, maybe if we put it by his gyroid, it'll be okay until he plants it where he wants."

No one had any better ideas to make sure that he got it, so I went over and told his gyroid that the rose was a gift to him. The weird statue agreed to alert him to it when he came back.

* * *

Later that evening, I put together a quick batch of no-bake cookies, then brought them to the weekly gathering at The Roost. I was still wearing my kimono, and so was Monique even though we helped to set up the decorations with Goose. As I was upstairs tying balloons to the sign, I noticed Pike and Fang come in. "Hello," I called over. "Are you coming to the party?"

"Sure," Fang said. "And I dragged him along too."

I smiled. "That's good. I think this is the first one you've been too, right Pike?"

"Hmph," he replied. "I wasn't really interested."

The white wolf grinned toothily. "Yeah, but I lured him here with my famed flaming chow mix."

Glancing at the blue bowl he was carrying, I said, "That seems like a cereal mix; I like those."

"Yeah, but this has Tabasco sauce and a dozen other secret spicy ingredients," Fang said, as they headed downstairs. "Don't say I didn't warn you."

Fortunately, Deena had brought a yogurt salad, which could easily counter the spiciness of Fang's mix.

I don't know when Pike left, but I'm fairly sure that he didn't stay at the party long. Fang didn't mind and kept daring the other guys to eating contests of the flaming chow mix. There wasn't much of it, but as eating just a few pieces had been enough to make my eyes water, it was quite a test of fortitude. Eventually, he got Bob and Goose to join him. The rooster, who hadn't tried any yet, was out soon with his face showing pink under his white feathers. That was after he had eaten a full handful without knowing better. "Man, you named this stuff right!" he said, going after Deena's yogurt salad quickly.

"I love it," Fang replied, eating another handful.

"I can manage it," Bob boasted, trying to continue. But after the third handful, he stopped, blinking.

"That clear your sinuses?" Fang asked teasingly.

"For the rest of winter," the purple cat replied. "Man, I don't think I'll be able to taste anything for the rest of the evening."

At that point, Rodeo came down the stairs. "S-sorry I'm late," he said as he came in. "But, the most amazing thing happened! I woke up and found an awesome climbing rose at my doorstep. It's a gift from the forest fairies!"

The other guys looked blankly at him while us girls giggled. "The fairies, really?" Monique asked.

The bull nodded. "Yeah, I know about fairies. They leave stuff for me to find sometimes, but I never actually see them."

"Actually, that was us," I said. "When we went to Chime City, they were holding a flower festival. We picked that up for you after the rafflesia incident."

He looked briefly bummed out. "Aw, I missed their flower festival?" But then he smiled. "Well, thanks for thinking of me, girls. I brought it inside for tonight, but I'll plant it tomorrow and it'll be looking great on my outer wall."

I pulled my new album out of my bag. "And I brought pictures of it too. Some of it is of us, but I made sure to take pictures of nice flower arrangements and gardens."

"Nice, I'd like to see that." So I spent a while showing off the pictures of the event to the rest, at least those that were also interested.

* * *

_A bit of filler, but also a scattering of plot points._


	15. The Black Letter

**Chapter 14: The Black Letter**

Monday, January 19

One of the peach trees that I had planted died, but the other four were getting strong. So I was getting better at tree planting. I had bought a new axe that morning too, as the one I had bought last month was cracking. Most of the paths were clear, but there were a few trees elsewhere that were growing too close together still. As the trees were covered in icicles from a storm last night, I had my umbrella to shield me from falling ice when I shook the trees. I had started a habit of laying my net on the ground when I prepared to take out a tree, as well as keep a bag of medicine handy.

That worked out well this time. I was on the strip of land that led up to the waterfall, on the lower level between the cliff and the river. I came this way occasionally when fishing, so I had noticed these two oak trees providing an obstacle. When I shook the one I wanted to take out, I got the usual shower of icicles, and a falling bee hive.

Knowing what I was facing this time, I stepped back and dropped down to grab the net, dropping my umbrella in the process. Then I waited to see them come around the trunk and right towards me to swing my net at them. I thought it might startle them, but the net managed to capture the whole group of them. They had been clumped together in one mass. For a moment, they fought against my net, struggling to break free. I put the open end to the ground, to keep them from getting loose.

Then the net quieted, showing a rectangular item underneath. I lifted it up and found a plastic bug cage with the bees inside it. This time, I had beat them.

They were flying around angrily, though; I could hear a steady buzz as they tried to find an exit. I was leery of packing them around like that, even though the bug cages were said to be inescapable once they were caught. Certainly, I would not want to test that out with these angry bees. So I put my umbrella and net away, picked up the cage gently, and walked around the river to reach the museum.

When I stepped inside, I saw Bob sitting in the curator's chair by the clock. He seemed distracted, with his ears turned downward and his mouth muttering. "Good morning, Bob," I said.

He jumped and called, "Gyah! I'm supposed to be here!" Then he looked up to me. "Oh, good morning Nadia. Geez, you startled me."

"Sorry," I said. "I came to turn in an insect."

"I'll handle that, then," he said, grabbing a clipboard from a nearby table. "Blathers asked me to watch the museum for a few hours so he and Celeste can sleep. Apparently, they had a lot of work to do last night and have more to finish tonight."

"That's kind of you."

"Yeah, and it's not too bad. What've you got?"

"Some bees," I said, putting the cage on the table.

The cat ducked down and looked inside. "Ooo, and they look mad too. Ha hah, you showed them this time."

I smiled. "Yeah, but I didn't want to hang onto them for long. Maybe you can put a cloth over the cage so they calm down before they get released into the display. Just make sure Blathers knows; as much as he dislikes bugs in general, I wouldn't want him finding these bees unexpected."

"That would be a nasty prank. Looks like we don't have any bees here yet." He filled out a slip, then stuck it by the cage. "I'll put that on the cloth so he knows. Thanks for your contribution and all."

"Sure." I hadn't meant to stay, but I wondered something. "Was something bothering you, Bob? Or were you just caught in some mental game?"

"Well, not…" he blushed. "Or, maybe you can help. But, uh, don't tell anybody about this. I'd like it to be a surprise if I do it."

"Sure, I wouldn't tell your secret," I said, puling over another chair to sit in. "What's up?"

His ears tilted down again. "You know me; I've always been a guy who likes joking around and flirting with girls. It was just fun and I never saw any reason to be serious. But lately, I've found myself being really interested in Monique. She's pretty, and I like her attitude; she's classy without being as bad as a snob as some other girls. And even though she hasn't been here long, she's already pretty smart. She even speaks French, which is awesome, like you do only you're kind of not available."

I chuckled a bit. "Kind of," I agreed jokingly.

That got him to smile again. "It is nice to see you in good spirits again. Anyhow, I've been thinking of asking her out to a date for Valentine's Day. It's a few weeks away, but I could plan something great in that time. I just don't know, though. She knows me as someone who isn't serious about this kind of thing, so how can I convince her that I'm being serious this once?"

"That is quite a dilemma," I said sympathetically.

"Yeah. So what do you think? You're a girl; what could I do to actually impress her?"

I considered it. "Well… I think one of the things you could do is speak for yourself. I know you like to use movie quotes, but that's more of being playful. If you want to show her that you're serious, then use your own words."

"What if I sound dumb? I know the movie quotes are cool." He sighed. "Although, you do have a point."

"You could also just be friendly with her beforehand," I suggested. "Make sure she thinks positively of you before you ask her on a date."

"I am trying that too. But, uh," he blushed, "I do find myself tongue-tied occasionally. If she laughs, I just pretend I did it intentionally. There were a few times that I did, so it wasn't all bad. Okay, I'll work on that. Thanks Nadia." He smiled. "I might sound dumb a few times, but maybe she'll see that I'm being honest. Wait, um, not about me being completely dumb, which I'm not."

"Of course not," I said, smiling. "If you'll excuse me, I was taking care of more trees that need to come down. Hopefully I don't run into any more bee hives."

"They are actually worth quite a bit at a Nook store," Bob told me. "That is, I knew a guy who was really good at catching bees and he earned quite a bit of money at it."

"I don't know if I'd want to do that. Good talking to you, Bob."

"Same to you!"

I went back to the area near the waterfall to take care of the tree. When I got there, I heard some voices from closer to the pool. My neighbors were probably fishing over there, so I took out my axe and chopped down the tree. After digging out the stump and filling the hole back up, I noticed that it was Fang and Pike over there. And they seemed to be in a heated argument.

I couldn't hear what the specifics were, but I knew it was bad that these friends were arguing. And it looked to be in earnest, not a joking buddy game. I put my tools up and walked over there, wondering if I could mediate between them.

But then Pike turned and stormed off. I stepped aside as he came towards me. "Excuse me," I said, holding my hand out to offer the help.

"Don't bother me!" Pike snarled, then shoved me to the side, and into the river.

It was cold, biting against my skin. The shock of it blanked out all else for a moment, and then someone was helping me out of the river. Back on land, I saw that it was Fang who had gotten me out; his clothes were wet, although not as drenched as mine.

"What was that for, cha-chomp?" Fang demanded. "The water's cold enough to make her sick."

"I don't care," the ferret hissed, then left.

"This is not good," Fang muttered. Then he tugged at me. "Hey, you'd better get back home. It really could make you sick, so you'd better stay inside today."

"Yeah. Thanks for getting me out." Plus I didn't want my clothes freezing over me, so I followed his advice.

Half an hour later, I was back at home with some hot tea, sitting by the fireplace. My hair was still damp, but I was dry otherwise. I was considering either reading or watching TV, but then there was a knock on my door. It was Fang, now wearing a darker red sweater. He seemed upset, from the way his ears were laying. "Hey, I hope I'm not bugging you like this Nadia, but mind if I visit and talk for a bit?"

"No, that's fine," I said, holding the door open for him. "The teakettle should still be warm; would you like some tea?"

"Yeah, that'd be good. No sugar, though."

I went into the kitchen to get another mug and then some tea. When I got back, he was sitting in the yellow Classic Couch, thinking. I placed the mug on the low table nearby, then sat in a nearby chair. "So what is the trouble?"

"It's about Pike, although I wish he was over it already." His tail twitched. "I know he can be antisocial, so I'm not sure how much you know about him."

"I know a little bit," I said. "Back at Christmas Eve, he mentioned that he'd once had a girlfriend who shared my name, but that she'd gone on to Heaven. But not much past that."

"Ah. That is some of the problem." He took a drink, thinking before he went on. "Everyone here is trying to improve themselves, even if that goal sometimes gets lost in all the other things that can be done. I knew Pike and Nadia the swan when they were together, and I was friends with both of them. She was a, well, very energetic and enthusiastic girl, and is still an inspiration to me. But she loved Pike. I was jealous for a bit, but I managed to get past that. They were really happy together."

"That can be tough," I agreed. "But it's good that you could remain friends."

He nodded. "Yeah, and in that, I even managed to overcome one of my own hurdles. And then came that one February when we got notice that she had perfected herself and was ready to ascend to Heaven. There was a huge celebration in her honor, of course. But then, she surprised me when I was the first person she told about her choice, to leave Animal Crossing then. She didn't even discuss it much with Pike.

"Apparently, she was worried that he was being too dependent on her. He had made good progress in that time, but it was mostly in ways to impress or please her. Nadia thought that if it went on like that, it might end up counting against him instead of helping him; he had to learn to be good because it was the right thing, not because it would make anyone else happy. Because of that, she was going to move on instead of stay. She wanted me to help him, but only so that he had a friend's support while trying to be independent."

"Right, as it is hard to lose somebody." Even in that way, I would guess.

"Well I did my best," Fang said, sounding disappointed. "But it didn't work out as she'd hoped for. Completely opposite, actually, as he withdrew even more and became very argumentative. I was there for him, but then he moved out without telling anyone in March. I got back in contact with him through letters and he had started calming down. But then you showed up. It's no fault of your own, don't worry, but he's always had something against humans. I've never heard what or why, but it must have happened during his previous life. And the fact that you shared her name, I think that really irked him."

"And that's why you moved here?" I asked.

He nodded. "Right, to keep helping him get over this anger of his, even if the old Nadia wanted him to do it on his own. It was working out, but when I brought her up and her wishes for him, well, you must have heard the end of that conversation…" His ears drooped down, still bothered by it all.

I thought over that, looking for something to tell him. "You can see some people need help, but if they won't accept that help, it's hard to do anything for them. He did choose to come here. Maybe if he got away from here, and me, he might be okay. I would like to help, but if it's something I can't really change like my name that keeps him from listening, there won't be much I can do."

"I wish he wasn't so stubborn," Fang said, although his anger seemed hollow. He was more worried about Pike. "But yes, we can't change his mind. But he has to do something… and really apologize to you, or else…"

"Or else what?" I asked, seeing as he left that hanging.

"We don't want that to happen," he said, still not explaining 'that'. "Nobody does."

We ended up speaking for the next hour. I understood him better, and a little about Pike. He still wouldn't explain about it.

* * *

Friday, January 23

It came early. I had been cleaning up after breakfast when my gyroid called for my attention. "Some mail came at six," it told me. "It's an important notice; you'll need your guide."

"My guide?" I asked, pulling out the single envelope. It seemed formal for this realm, a white envelop with black trim, and a black paw print instead of a sender's address. I remembered that the one time Rover wrote me, he had done that. But this was quite different.

'Dear Nadia:

We regret to inform you that one of your villagers, Pike, has committed a grave offense, endangering the health and well-being of a neighbor in anger, without apology. As this is his third serious offense, we must call a trial to be held on the town plaza, in order to determine if he must leave Animal Crossing or if he may stay with appropriate measures taken or assistance given. Please post the enclosed notices on Verdant's message boards and close down the gates to visitors until the trial is over.

The trial will be held, in your time range, at 2:10 PM on the 24th of January. The court to be called will include Jainiel, Rover, Mr. Resetti, Don Resetti, and some Chime City court workers. Please be at the train station to meet with them, along with Pike, around 2:00 PM. Refer to your anchor's guide for the formalities required on this occasion.

From, the Chime City courthouse.'

So this was to be a trial to determine if Pike was a failure here. It was probably what Fang had hoped to avert, that is, if he would apologize. It puzzled me for a second as to what was meant by the charge, but it had to be when he shoved me into the river. While I hadn't gotten fully sick, I hadn't felt too well the rest of that Monday.

I searched my guide until I found the section on town trials. This was noted as the Black Letter Trial; apparently Pike would have gotten a similar letter. It seemed to be a highly formal occasion and I would have a lot to do in preparing.

Not half an hour later, I was at the town hall posting the trial notice on the plaza board. I had already posted one on the board at the train station, as well as spoke with Copper about keeping the town closed to visitors for today and tomorrow. Fang and Monique were there in front of the town hall, talking. But on seeing me, they came over.

"Oh wait, is this about Pike?" Fang asked, apprehensive.

I nodded. "Yes, it's on him. the trial's going to be tomorrow."

"Crud… I hope this doesn't count against the town. I mean, you haven't even been here two months."

"What is this about?" Monique asked, looking at the notice. "A trial?"

"The trial you hope doesn't happen to anybody," Fang explained. "Because he could be kicked out of the whole realm."

Her eyes widened. "R-really? That can happen?"

"I think they prefer to give people the benefit of the doubt," I said. "I mean, it's been several days. Anyhow, you'd better come with me, Monique. We have to get black formal wear for this. Unless you don't want to come."

"Oh dear. Well, if it's tomorrow, I'd better get that anyhow. I don't know…"

I rubbed my chin. "I think I'd better ask Deena if she needs some made too. I think the rest of you have been around long enough; it's hard to say."

"There's other occasions when it's needed," Fang said, "But if she hasn't been around for long, then it's probably better to check."

It ended up being me, Monique, and Deena who arrived in the Able Sisters' shop. Sable and Mabel were setting up a jewelry display case. "Oh, good morning," Mabel called. "We managed to get some watches and other small jewelry items to sell, if you're interested."

"That sounds nice, but we have to get formal wear shortly," I told them.

"Y-yeah, it's a black letter trial," Deena said, sounding nervous. "Not us, of course… it's Pike."

"Oh dear," Sable said. "That's terrible. When is it?"

"Tomorrow," I answered. "Just after two, so I'm sorry if it's not a lot of time."

"No, no, I can manage if it's just the three of you," the brown hedgehog said, going over to her sewing corner and getting some measuring tape. "It does have to be made a certain way, and specific to every person. Please come over here so I can get some measurements. The cost will be eight hundred bells each. I'll do my best to get them done by tomorrow morning."

I didn't see Pike himself on Friday, but everyone else in town seemed nervous or worried about the next day. I wondered what he was thinking, but I didn't think that my concern would be welcomed.

Saturday, January 24

Deena came over at eight to deliver my formal wear. Apparently, Sable had worked late to get them all done. It was a black long-sleeved dress, with a material that could be shifted to any weight in accordance to the weather. It had black lace trim and a row of buttons down the chest. It came with a set of black shoes (only to be worn with this outfit) and a black hat (with the same condition). After spending the morning preparing, I changed into that black outfit, then went down to Pike's house at a quarter to two.

He hadn't been at the station and I hadn't crossed paths with him, unless he took the long way around the town border. After my first knocking hadn't been answered, I tried again. His gyroid was being still, although it watched me.

Finally, Pike came out. He was wearing a white shirt and white pants, but I recognized that as what he had to wear. He glared at me coldly.

But it was my duty. "Hello. Are you ready?" I asked.

"More than you, probably," he replied, coming out and shutting his door behind him.

"Are you warm enough like that?" I added. We would be out doing this for quite some time.

"I'll be fine," he said, crossing his arms over his chest and heading off north to the train station. I followed after him.

I tried another time to talk to him, but he didn't respond. As we got to the top of the ramp, someone called out, "Wait!" I stopped, although Pike just slowed down. Fang came running up the ramp after us, dressed in black formal wear as well. His fur seemed rougher than usual and his clothes did have some wrinkles; this had upset him quite a lot. "I know they would rather work to help you, Pike. Stop being so angry."

He shook his head. "Don't act like this is something you can talk me out of, Fang."

"It wouldn't take much. I've just been trying to help you, Nadia too. And this one."

"It's too late, so if you're coming, let's go." He kept heading towards the train station.

Not wanting to force him to change, or apologize, Fang and I followed him to the station, where we waited on the stone walkway. Right as the town hall bells started chiming for two, the whistle of the train came from the tunnel. Pike glanced down at his paws, finally showing some nervousness at this. But he was still keeping his shoulders in, trying to be away from the both of us when we were there with him.

The old steam train stopped in front of the station and opened its doors. Two moles came out, both wearing hard hats and rough looking clothes, not quite what one would expect of judges. Then Rover came out, dressed more like the Reaper he was, with a black cloak with a large hood (although he still wore it down, in defiance of being labeled grim) and his scythe hanging at his side. Finally, there came a young-looking turtle and black-furred dog guiding down a taller orange and red hawk. All of the court officials were also dressed in black.

It was quite clear which of the last three was the angel, for Jainiel had two wings arms like Blathers and the other birds, but he also had two white wings on his back. A halo of light was barely around his body; I could see it at the edges of my vision, but not when I looked directly at him. His eyes were white, which made him seem blind. Yet, there was a sense that this hawk could see far more of us then we could see of ourselves.

I came forward once the group stepped off the platform and bowed to them. "Welcome to Verdant," I said. "The town hall plaza has been cleared for you."

"Fine, good," one of the moles said. He walked as if it was a little awkward for him, but looked up to Pike. "And you… we've given you all the time that we can give you. You've known what had to be done."

"I know," Pike said, sounding like he might try to back talk that. But the presence of Jainiel seemed to unnerve him. I have to admit, the hawk angel had that effect on me too.

"Let's hold it until the official trial," the other mole said, then burrowed underground. The first one sniffed, then followed suit. Pike, Fang, and I walked with Rover, Jainiel, and the two court workers.

There were a few minutes spent setting up the outdoors courthouse. There was a large wooden platform, a couple of plain benches, a wood table, and a deep violet banner with a gold symbol for the justice branch of the government. From watching them, I could only guess that the angel had a different way of seeing. He could approve of the set-up with a simple nod, but he seemed to need the assistance of the court workers to walk over the icy ground. The turtle sat at the table with a large notebook; he seemed to be a court recorder. The dog spoke with all the officials and waited by the turtle; she seemed to be a general assistant.

By two-fifteen, all of our neighbors had gathered in the plaza, watching as quiet witnesses. Some of the workers had come out; Pelly helped Tortimer and gave him a chair to sit down in, but other than the court workers, he was the only one sitting. Jainiel was sitting by Rover on the other bench; the former was quiet and serious, while the latter gave the impression that this was a part of his job that he did not like. The two moles were hunched on the stage near them. The trial was ready to begin.

The black dog came up to the center of the stage and clapped for attention. "Attention please, everyone. We now call to order the black letter trial of Pike the ferret. Angel Jainiel will be the presiding judge, while Mr. Resetti and Don Resetti will be the acting judges. The anchor Nadia will be signing as the primary witness, with Fang acting as a secondary. Is this acceptable?"

"Yes, m'am," I said. Fang walked up beside me and nodded. According to what I'd read, a secondary witness wasn't necessary. They must have been recognizing him as a friend to Pike, even if he didn't seem to be.

"Very well. Pike, please come onto the stage. Mr. Resetti, you have the stage." She walked back to her bench and waited.

Pike stepped onto the stage and faced off against one of the two moles. Mr. Resetti cleared his throat, then looked sharply at the ferret. "Well, Pike, we've given you a lot of time to work things out. And you've certainly known what resources there were available to assist you. But you haven't been seeking any help! Independence can be good, yes, but not all problems can be solved by one person alone.

"And there have been plenty of people around you willing to support you in your time of grief. Even when they didn't know what's happened with you, people have tried to help. But you've refused all of them out of stubbornness! Even Fang there who went to the effort of moving from a town he really liked in order to be a good friend to you. And how did you treat him? You didn't make any efforts to be like a friend and even argued with him! If you had always been that way, it would be a wonder that you had any friends at all, much less a girl who loved you truly."

Mr. Resetti didn't look as big as the other animals, but he had a massive presence. He kept going on his tirade of pointing out what Pike was doing wrong, including being passively hostile and refusing to apologize to me. and he made some points over several times, making me wonder if he'd run out of breath or stop at any time soon. As for Pike, there were some points where he flinched, but remained mostly quiet. He was trying to remain resistant as always.

"And while your issue with humans wasn't supposed to come up here," Mr. Resetti said, "this could have been a great opportunity to improve on that to help your overall development. You were starting to be accepting, but then never finished through with it. Quite like you seem to be on everything else. Honestly, you need to accept others and put more effort into self-improvement. And that's what I have to say. Don, if you somehow have anything to say, the stage is yours." He went back over to his spot in front of the bench.

If this was anything like a trial that I knew, then I thought that Don was acting like a defense attorney, not a judge. It was simply different titles, I suppose. The second mole came forward and looked at Pike quietly for a moment. "You were trying, but I can't say you had your heart fully in it," Don stated. "And you have done some good things in the past couple of months, like making a new friend and helping Nadia with the thorny rafflesia. Your temper has also improved from what it was. But it hasn't been nearly enough improvement compared to the slips you've been having. I'm sorry. Yet, you seem strangely resolved. Is there anything you have to say for yourself?"

"No," he said. I saw some of our neighbors whispering to each other. That did seem odd that he wasn't going to say anything, not after Mr. Resetti had exposed him like that.

"Very well." Don Resetti looked to the bench. "Jainiel, do we want to have comments from the town?"

The hawk shook his head and got up. "Not this time."

He bowed his head. "All right. You have the stage, Jainiel."

Pike looked to be bracing himself when the angel came up next to him. Jainiel touched his chest. "We will not have comments from the town, for you have already turned from this place. That in itself counts more against you than anything else that has been spoken in this trial. But your idea is flawed; it has been much too soon for that to have the effect you wanted." This caused Pike to look surprised, but it didn't affect him as much as the next statement. "You have lost your wings to heaven and your right to stay in Animal Crossing. You will descend back to the realm of the mortals. That concludes this trial. Rover, he's yours."

"Right," the blue cat said, looking a bit surprised at the quick finish. "You'll be coming with us when things get cleared up, so speak with anyone you want to now."

Although he'd gone into this confident, Pike seemed like he was lost right then. He left the stage. A few others tried to talk with him, but he didn't speak back. I decided to try anyhow, and hope he didn't get annoyed at it. "Well, goodbye Pike, I told him. "You did help me a couple of times, so thanks. I'll remember you."

"You get along too well," he grumbled, finally responding to something. But then he looked to me. "I didn't want to do this, but…"

"What is it?" I asked, being patient. Of course, he didn't have much time. It wouldn't take them long to pack their things back up.

"You should be able to get into my house, or ask the old guy about it," he said. "There's a photo album with pressed leaves on the cover. Could you get that to Fang? And I got rid of most of my movies, but give what's left to Bob. I suppose he was trying harder than anyone else to be nice to me."

I nodded. "All right, I'll do that."

"And one other thing…" he looked distressed again and sighed. "I guess she was right. I had a dream the night before from my Nadia, the swan. She said to remember her words, and to give that accessory to you. I didn't want to. But she was right. Before she left, she said that if I wasn't careful and strong, I'd lose my wings, and that she'd give hers to me as a reminder. I didn't understand her at the time, but it seems she was right. But she wants them to go to you now, and I wouldn't want them to end up out for sale, or trashed. So take the wings."

"The wings?"

He nodded. "Yeah… she liked to make her own accessories and tried to make a pair of angel wings once. She thought she'd messed up, but I told her they were beautiful. On her, anyhow. And if she wants you to have them, well, I won't be around any longer. Take care of them."

"Sure, I will."

"Oh, Nadia, we need you to sign some of the papers," the turtle said, handing me a clipboard with several papers and a pen. "It's for the court records."

As I got pulled away to do that, Fang tried talking to Pike again, now that he seemed more like talking. It looked like regular legal documents. Not quite as lengthy as some I could recall back in the mortal realm, but I doubt we would have folks around who would challenge the system through legal loopholes. I handed the clipboard and things back to the turtle, but then the dog worker tugged at me. "Excuse me, m'am, but would you show me the quickest way to get to that giant tree? I think Jainiel went there."

"That would be just going north, but I'll show you," I said. Rover was taking Pike back to the train station and the moles were presumably digging there again. I left with her for Yggdrasil. Once we were at the ramp, I added, "I didn't notice him leave."

"Well he is an angel," she said. "So he can get around in ways the rest of us can't. I was asked to assist him around, though, as it's winter and he can only see auras. He and Rover did mention a special tree here, which seemed odd when we were on the train. But that is like nothing else that I've seen."

We did find the hawk angel on the top of the hill, standing still near the trunk of the tree. He was looking into the tree, so it seemed, but did turn his head as we approached. "I'm sorry to have worried you," he said. "But I had to look into this matter of Yggdrasil myself."

"It is a magnificent tree," she said. "But a bit ominous too, the way it covers so much of this town's sky."

"I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing," I told them.

Jainiel nodded. "The tree itself is no cause for alarm; I have seen its branches before and it offers a great blessing of life. It's those who travel along the trunk that could cause problems. Like Loki. He should have no authority here. If he tries to claim something like that, it could very well unravel much of the system. And the souls here do not deserve such disruption. It might turn out badly for some of them too."

"Is there a way to shut off this realm again?" I asked.

"Not without destroying this town, and your soul," he said grimly. "You bear an amulet made from the sap of the world tree and while it cannot be removed, this branch cannot be removed. So the gap will always be here as long as Verdant exists. We will not accept the sacrifice of a soul like that, at any cost. He must have known. But there should be a way to remove the amulet."

The train's whistle sounded.

"We'd best go," Jainiel said. "We will keep investigating this mater and if you get any clues, you should look into them as well. Tell Tortimer of what happens and he'll get word to us. I'm glad that he got the position of mayor in this town. Goodbye."

"Goodbye," I said to the two of them as the court assistant took the angel's hand. "And be sure to stick to the path that starts near that house; it'll lead you to the bridge up here."

"Thanks, and goodbye," she said, waving to me.

* * *

The angel wing accessory that I got from Pike was cute. Maybe a perfectionist would find fault in it, especially if that perfectionist was the maker of it. It had two small white wings that spread out several inches from my shoulders; there was a gold-painted structure with a clip that attached to the back of a shirt or dress. And with the fluffy white feathers were several glittery gold feathers, in a bit of a jagged line across the middle and along the bottom edge. I wasn't exactly sure what I'd wear it for, but I would keep it as he wanted.

It seemed that the movies weren't the only things that he had sold, as his house seemed vacant compared to when I'd seen in it before. His bonsai plants were all gone and only a few plain pieces of furniture were left behind. I found the photo album and the movies in a shelf and gave them to Fang and Bob. I also made sure to talk with them. It was much like he had died again.

That evening, I went down to The Roost. Due to the trial, the weekly party was canceled; no one felt up to it. But there was someone else down there, and it wasn't one of my neighbors. It was Rover, back in his usual sweater vest. "Hi, I didn't hear your train stop here again," I said.

"Oh, hi Nadia," he replied. "I've got other ways of getting around, usually when I'm on break. You can join me, if you don't mind a bit of gloomy company."

"I know." I sat on the stool by him. "Brewster, I'd like one of the hot dark chocolates, please."

The pigeon nodded. "Coo, I'll get right on it." He turned to get the things together.

"You don't like taking souls from here, then?" I asked Rover.

He shook his head. "Not one bit. I bring them here from the mists to give them a better chance at peace and happiness, after all. I love that part of being a Reaper. Welcoming animals to their new home and life, being there when they achieve enlightenment, that's great. But the failures, that always gets me down. They have that chance to turn themselves around, and usually many chances, but some of them never take it."

"It would be nice if everyone could pass their tests," I agreed. "But they wouldn't be much of a test if there wasn't a chance of failure."

"I guess. And even if I meet and tend to know everybody, I actually only have a great impact on a few. Sometimes I'd like to be more proactive about that. But, my duties now are important, and numerous. Anyhow, I hope I'm not bringing you down. What're you here for?"

"Other than Brewster's expertise?" I said, taking my hot chocolate and paying for it.

The pigeon smiled at me, but didn't say anything. Rover chuckled.

"Actually, I came here to write a letter," I told them. "I've been trying to write it for a while now, but I think I know what to say now. It's to my husband back in the mortal realm."

The cat pricked his ears up. "Really, so you remember now?"

I nodded. "It was a huge shock. Apparently I can get his journal entries as letters occasionally. But according to the city fortune teller, I can only reply once, if I leave it at the base of Yggdrasil. So I need to make it count."

"Of course. Well don't let me bug you, unless you think that will help."

"Maybe it would, maybe it wouldn't," I said, half as a joke. I had the letter I had gotten at Christmas along with a sheet of bejeweled paper. I had a feeling that I shouldn't put this off much longer.

'Dear Mitchell

It seems to be nearly two months for me, but time moves differently here, I think. I'm fine; I do miss you and the kids greatly. But we're separated now by a divide that we cannot cross. We must accept this. Do not lose your chance at happiness because I am no longer there with you. You must live for yourself now, as I must live for myself. But our hearts will always remember each other; that connection cannot be severed, even by death.

Do tell Allen and Lucia that I love them too and always will. They will always be my children and that too can never change. I want them to be happy; I hope that they can grow to be good and strong people.

I am living in a completely different world now. It is not quite heaven; more of a place to prepare for heaven. Animal Crossing is a place where the best animals come to learn how to be truly a good person. That means that Monique is here with me, as Lucia thought. She and the others get to live as humans, with houses and furniture all their own, able to make friends, build gardens, and learn many things. It was something of a fortunate accident that I ended up here, but I have accepted my new job to help the animals improve themselves.

Unfortunately, it is one of my new animal neighbors that pointed out to me the dangers of getting too absorbed in remembering a loss. If you cannot let go of something painful, it will never heal, causing more pain to yourself and others around you. Life and death are often unfair, but we should make the best of the time we have, striving to make the world around us into a better place.

Being without you hurts, yes, but I must live in my world now, as you live in yours. I occasionally get word from you, in the letters you write in your journal, but I'm afraid that this is the only letter you will get in response. But don't be reluctant to write to me, especially if it helps you. I wouldn't wish for you to join me, for that would cause more sadness and pain to the ones you leave behind. I am not the only one dear to your heart, I know; you should treasure those that you do have and not forget about any that you have loved.

I will never forget about you, Mitchell. I will always love you and wish for your happiness.

With much love, Nadia.'

* * *

_And this chapter would be why I made Pike's character. I knew I wanted to do the black letter trial, but I didn't want to do that with any of the game neighbors._

_Sorry about the missed update last week. But I will be switching this to an every other week update instead of every week. I've got a number of things I'm doing and a switch of updating schedule should help. Part of it is because I really care about my writing quality...  
_


	16. To Be a Friend

**Chapter 15: To Be a Friend**

I had a dream one night that my family from the mortal realm came to visit Monique and I in Verdant. It was odd in that I remembered it so vividly. Rather than winter, it seemed to be spring with all the trees filled with early green leaves. They came by the train; we went to my house for a little while, then Monique's. Then we all went down to the beach to have a picnic. In my bag, I had the letter I had written Mitchell, so I gave it to him. After he read it, he seemed a bit lost and sad still. But then he smiled and kissed me. The dream must have faded some time after that, as the rest of my memory of it is a blur.

I told Monique about it the next morning and it turns out that she had almost the same dream that night. The events were the same, just from her point of view; she last remembers the kids building a sandcastle with her and that she didn't mind being near the water and sand as she was with them. She wondered if the fact that we shared it means that it really did happen, in a sense that dreams could be real. While I'm not certain, I hope that it is so.

* * *

Tuesday, February 3rd

I was quite surprised that morning when, as I was leaving for my morning chores, I found the base of an igloo sitting near my house, where the nearest signpost usually was. I didn't think it was possible to own an igloo house, and they usually weren't built like this. Near it, there was an item bag so whoever was building it had to be nearby. I waited a moment until a somewhat familiar brown duck with glasses emerged from the trees with a large snowball. I knew I had seen him around, but couldn't remember exactly when.

He saw me and waved. "Ah, good morning, there!" he called. "Wait, wait, don't tell me… I've remembered your name before."

Hearing the voice connected it for me. "Oh right, Derwin. Good morning," I said, coming over to him. "We met in Chime City back in December."

"Yeah. You're Nadia, right?" When I nodded, he grinned (as much as he could with the beak). "Hah, I knew I'd get it! How's it going?"

"Pretty good. You come here to camp?"

"Yup! I'm part of a club of extreme campers, willing to set stakes in any town, in any weather, all for the sake of a good camp out. Well, that and the food; stew seems extra cozy when eaten inside a snuggly igloo. But you've got to build it first."

"I would think so. Have fun, and if you need help with anything, my house is just over there."

Derwin nodded. "Right, thanks. I think I've got it all covered, though. I thought about coming over earlier, but sometimes I'm such a space cadet; I totally forgot the name of this place for a while! But then I was looking through towns in winter for some good old igloo camping and Verdant came up and I was all, 'oh yeah, I said I'd visit!'"

I chuckled. "Well I'm glad you came."

That day went on as usual; I did my morning chores taking care of town, then went back home to do some work there and pick up the nine o'clock mail. I made lunch early, and extra of it as Fang had been having a rough time since Pike's trial. I had offered to bring him lunch and hang out with him for a while. On my way over, though, I ran into Patty and Deena, who both seemed quite excited.

And they spotted me, so came over. "Oh, Nadia, we've got great news!" Patty said, smiling broadly. "You remember when the two of us and Robin won that singing contest?"

I nodded. "Yeah, that was a while ago."

"Well we've gotten word just this morning that some music producers want the three of us to come out to Seabreeze City to try out for a music career! We could have a group, make our own records, and become stars!"

"That's great," I said, smiling for them.

"I'm really amazed that they called for all three of us," Deena said. "But if we do make it, we'd have to move to Seabreeze. I never thought about being able to live in a city before."

"It'll be great!" Patty said. "Verdant is great too, but they're different kinds of greats."

"Of course. I suppose you'll have to be practicing a lot now."

"Yeah, but we can always use the Roost to do that. Want to come listen to us?"

"Sorry, but I can't right now. Maybe sometime later. I'm meeting up with Fang soon."

The cow didn't falter with her cheer and smile. "Ah, okay. Later then; make sure to cheer him up good! Come on, Deena, let's go see if Goose will play accompaniment."

"Okay… hey, hey, wait up!" The duck ran after her friend, who was too eager and excited about all this to realize what she'd done. Kind of like a kid; the thought made me smile.

I went on to Fang's house and shared lunch with him. He was reminiscing a lot about the times he had with Pike and the swan Nadia. And he knew about the wings. "Yeah, she was all panicky when she realized the gold accent feathers weren't in a straight line," he told me. "She always seemed pickiest when it was something she was making. Anything else, she could forgive faults in minor errors like that."

"Some people see faults in the things they make as faults that they have," I said.

"Right." He paused. "You now, it's been about ten days now. I thought I'd be tough and overcome this. But it's harder than it was with her. Maybe because of how he went, or maybe it's because they're both gone. Two of my closest buddies in Animal Crossing, just gone."

"I know," I said in sympathy. "It's like losing your footing when people like that are taken away."

He nodded. "Something like that. The worst parts are when you don't feel right here and your soul recalls what its previous life was like. Not good for me, you know, since in my previous life, I would have hunted several people in town." After another pause, he added, "Um, please don't tell any of them that. Normally I don't feel predatory instincts anymore, just in those rare moments of disconnect."

"Sure, I'll keep that a secret," I agreed. But the fact that he could share it with me, I'm glad that he trusted me like that. "I felt disconnected myself when I was distracted by the loss of my family. It was like this place wasn't real."

"I'm glad that it is real. But, it is tougher for us to deal with the passing of others. Even if they don't really die."

It was after one when I finally left Fang's place; he said that he needed to do some housework of his own. I headed back home, as I had the lunch dishes to take care of. But as I walked on the upper path, I saw that Goose and Derwin were talking animatedly. Almost an argument, but it didn't seem hostile. Our visitor had out a few strings, one of them weighted by a sphere of metal; he was using this to check on the progress of his igloo, which looked to be nearly complete. Goose was watching his method.

"But you know, buh-kay, the manly method is to pile on the blocks and get it done fast. And big! You gotta have a big igloo." Goose paced around, looking over Derwin's twelve-foot igloo.

The duck shrugged. "I may like extreme igloo camping, but I don't like to be woken up buried in snow. My exact methods of making and placing the snow blocks make certain that the igloo will hold shape. It's snow architecture!"

"You've got the right tools for architecture," I said.

Derwin looked over and smiled. "Yeah, that's the ticket! I've even got a trowel with me, to make certain that the inner and outer surfaces of the igloo are smooth and gleaming."

Goose looked impressed. "Wow… you nerds sure get serious about your building."

Laughing, he seemed happy about that statement. "Of course! I make the best igloos anywhere! And snowmen. I've got the art of snowman rolling down to a science."

"I love making snowmen!" the chicken said. "But I like to make mine big and burly. Hey, want to see if we can make the biggest snowman ever? You can help, Nadia."

"That sounds fun," I said. "I haven't tried that out yet."

"Well it's going to take me another hour or so to complete my igloo," Derwin said, taking measurements of the hole in the top. "I'd be happy to join you in that then."

"Another hour? Man, you've only got the last piece to set in, and then the entrance!"

"The capsnow piece is vital to get right," Derwin said. "It's what holds the whole structure together securely. And then I have to coat it."

"Huh, I guess so. Well I'll scout around for a good spot. See you later!" He took off running.

"He's pretty nice, for a jock," Derwin mumbled, partly to himself. I left him to his building, as that seemed to be taking up his whole attention.

After cleaning up the dishes, I decided to visit Monique for a little while. Derwin was still fussing over getting his final piece correct; I don't think he even noticed that I had gone and come by again. I crossed over the bridge to find that Bob was talking to Rodeo in his garden. The bull was happily chatting, but the cat seemed overwhelmed.

"Hi Rodeo, hi Bob!" I called over. "What are you two doing?"

"Oh, hi Nadia!" Rodeo said, smiling. "We're talking about flowers!"

"Oy, yes," Bob said, rubbing his head. "I thought flowers were simple things, but man, there's so much to learn…"

"Well they are pretty simple," Rodeo said, looking over his large garden space. "You have to check on them every day, water the ones that are wilted, and keep the weeds out. But there is so much more when you really get into gardening. I guess it can get complicated."

"The hybrids, and the specialty plants… ah geez…" Bob lowered his ears.

"What kind of flowers are you interested in, Bob?" I asked, wondering if that would help. "Maybe you can just concentrate on what you're after, like Rodeo does with his gold rose."

That seemed to cheer him. "Oh yeah, that would be easier. I don't think I'll try a gold rose, though; I mean, if the master here doesn't even know how to get it, I don't think I can manage."

At that, Rodeo blushed. "I'm not exactly a flower master," he said quietly.

Bob seemed to have missed that. "I kind of just want something pink. Because, oh, well," now he was the one blushing, "Flowers show a sentimental and romantic man, right? I might be able to impress…" his voice quieted off at the end, but I knew what he meant.

"Oh pink?" Rodeo asked. "That shouldn't be too hard. Hybrids have a tough time in the winter, but if we're patient, they should show up. I mean, I don't even have any different colored roses yet. Anyhow, if you want a pink flower, you plant a white one next to a red one. Make sure they're close, but not choking each other out. A pink one might show up if you take care of those two. But, I don't recall having seen a pink pansy before. You'd do better with another flower."

"Okay, anything but a pansy…" he grinned. "I'll go see what Nook has in stock. Hey, mind if I plant mine near here? Your flowers do seem quite happy here."

"That's fine, but you need to water yours yourself," Rodeo said.

This was good, I thought, that these two were becoming friends. "I wish you both good luck in that," I said.

"Thanks!"

I found Monique just outside of her home, looking over it and thinking. I called over to her and carefully walked up the path to her home. "What're you doing?" I asked.

"Oh, I'm planning something," she told me. "Friga told me about a special festival that happens in February. It's called Bright Nights and all of us residents decorate our houses in lights and other things, to make the brightest and most beautiful home in these dark winter nights. You get to be one of the judges, as the anchor. Since I have to buy my decorations, I was deciding on what I wanted my house to look like. Although, I don't have much of a budget to work with, which worries me."

"Simple can be beautiful too," I told her. "Sometimes having lots of lights looks gaudy. I remember seeing a Christmas house that was quite sophisticated, even though it only had blue icicle lights."

"I guess… oh, but I'm glad you came by. Can I talk with you for a little bit? You can come inside for some tea and snacks."

I nodded. That's mainly what I did during the afternoons: help out my neighbors even if they just wanted someone to talk to. "Sure. Although, we've got a visitor, Derwin, who might be making snowmen with me and Goose later on. Do you want to join us?"

She twitched her ears. "Um, no thanks. But come on in for a while." She went over and opened her door for me. "Yesterday, Bob asked me if I wanted to make snow angels. I was mad for a bit. I mean, no way was I going to get my fur and clothes all cold and wet just to make impressions on the snow that won't last long. Although, he did say that I would make angels heavenly in their beauty, so I guess that was kind of cute." She giggled and shut the door behind us.

That could be why he was trying to grow a pink flower to impress her, as he'd made her mad. I hope it would work out all right, at least long enough for him to tell her how he feels. Although, I couldn't tell her about it.

As it turned out, that was about what she wanted to talk about. More specifically, the fortune she had gotten from Katrina. "I'm not really sure what to do about it," she said, stirring honey into her tea. "Someone could be interested in me, but I don't know who, and so I don't know what to say to any of the guys. And it could be any of the guys. There are some that I'd definitely say no to, like Nook, but I don't know about the rest."

"I don't know if Tom would have the time to be interested in anybody," I said.

She nodded. "Yeah, he's always at his store, or talking about it."

When she was quiet for a moment, I prodded her with, "So what do you think about the other guys?" I had to come up with someone other than Bob… "Like Goose?"

"Goose? He's okay, I guess. I don't know if I'd want to date him, though. He'd want us to run around town and I'd be exhausted all the time. And Rodeo, he is very sweet and nice, but he's always into his flowers." She smirked. "If he had a girlfriend, she might not get any from him."

"Right, because he wouldn't know which ones to give up. So what about the others?"

"Oh, well… I'm not sure about Fang. I don't think it's him, but only because I haven't spoken to him much. And Bob, um… well he sometimes tries too hard and doesn't get what's important. And that's if he could take a relationship seriously; he's too used to playing it as a game, as Friga says. But he is funny and I like talking to him, you know, when he isn't flirting too much. And then there's the worker guys, but I think they're all busy. Or, hey, have you heard? It seems that Pete at the post office likes one of the desk girls. But I don't know if the rumor meant Pelly or Phyllis."

"I hadn't heard about that," I admitted. I usually only talked with them when doing business. Sometimes I talked with them at the weekly party, but it was hard to say if any of them would show up. "You may just have to be careful, and patient. Maybe the guy wants to wait until closer to Valentine's Day."

"Maybe. I'm going to have to watch what I say then."

* * *

I did end up spending the late afternoon with Derwin and Goose as they tried to build that biggest snowman possible. As it was snowing lightly, the ground stayed hidden while we worked. The three of us ended up guiding a snowball that was twice the size of me up by the town hall. "Oh yeah, this guy's gonna be burly!" Goose said.

"How're we going to get the head on?" I asked. "None of us can reach up that high. And I don't think there's enough snow on the town hall roof to make a head for this one."

Derwin laughed. "Oh, that's something I hadn't thought of, rolling one up on a rooftop! I might have to try that someday. Anyhow, it'll get on, don't worry. The trouble is, we have to get the head to be the right proportion to the body."

"We can just make it big," Goose said.

The duck shook his head. "No, that'll make the snowman unhappy. If you want a perfect snowman, you have to make the head smaller by a certain percentage. It's fairly easy if you make a normal sized snowman. But for this giant, getting it right's going to be a pain. Maybe a foot smaller than this one?"

"We won't find out until we try," I pointed out.

"I guess. Where's another starter snowball, Goose?"

"Across the bridge, by the river. It might be tough to get across the bridge without falling apart, but we should be able to make it."

Derwin nodded. "Right. Let's go!"

We chased after the other snowball. First, you had to kick the starter snowball around a bit so that it grew bigger. Then you rolled it with your hands to compact it, and make it sturdy. We did have some trouble navigating the bridge with it, as the stone surface was icy and we were all sliding and slipping. But we got across without dropping the snowball in the river. Then we had to get it all the way over to the town hall. It had to be steered around some groups of trees, as it was getting too big to go between.

When we got there, the snowball we had was about half the size of the other. We had to roll it around to make it grow more. I talked Goose into having the two of us push it while Derwin checked on the proportions; the visitor was into architecture, I pointed out, and he would be best for finding the right size to make this one.

"I suppose that's right," the chicken admitted. "I've been making snowmen for several years now, but it seems hit or miss with me. I think I make one perfect snowman for every ten or so that I make. And the ones that are really out of whack are all depressed about it."

"I think we're at the right stage!" Derwin called out. "Okay, just roll that one up to the other and they'll make a snowman. Don't worry, it works."

Given that in this realm, you simply put seeds on the ground to instantly get flowers, I could believe that. We pushed the smaller (relatively, as it was still bigger than us) snowball onto the bigger one. When they touched, the small one seemed to jump on top of the other, spooking me briefly. Then things popped out of the top snowball to make a face: bits of coal for a mouth and eyes, as well as a carrot for a nose. This snowman dwarfed the trees near the town hall; it certainly dwarfed us.

Then, in another unexpected turn, the snowman cheered for us (without moving its mouth even). "Waahooo! Oh my gosh, I'M ALIVE!" Its voice boomed out across the plaza, probably carrying halfway across town. As we came in front of it, it added, "You three made me, didn't you?"

"That's right," Goose said, thrilled. "We made you into a giant!"

"Wow, it's definitely a record size for me," Derwin added.

"The first one I've made," I said.

"I am a giant!" the snowman said, seeming proud. "And I pull it off really well. Thanks, you guys; you did a great job. I'm so happy, I think I'll be making hailstones… but it's all out of joy! Wow, I can see the sea from here."

The door to the town hall opened up, letting out Pelly. "What's going on out here?" she asked, then got a look at the snowman. Her eyes widened and she brought her wings together. "Oh my… wow, I didn't think you could build a snowman that big."

"It's awesome!" Goose said.

I opened up my bag and pulled out my camera. "Pelly, if you don't mind sparing a minute, could you take a picture of us with the snowman? You might have to turn it sideways to get it in fully."

Smiling, she took my camera. "Yes, of course. An occasion like this does deserve a picture. I'll try to get a good one."

After a few tries, we got a really nice one of us at the base of the giant snowman. I made a note to myself to order several copies from my album, to give to Goose, Derwin, and possibly the museum. Then Derwin said that he had to go set up some more things in the igloo for the night, and Goose had some letters to write. I ended up going over to The Roost to see if Deena and Patty were still there.

They were, as was the one villager I hadn't spoken to yet that day, Friga. I ordered a hot cocoa and sat down with her. "How're you doing?" I asked.

"Just fine, brrmph," she said, waving her flipper. "But you're looking a touch worn down, dear. Is anything wrong?"

I shook my head. "No, I've just been busy today. The job of an anchor didn't sound too tough to me, being that I had to take care of town, and support all my neighbors as a friend. But it sure is time-consuming. I get involved in a lot of things."

She nodded. "I see. But you know, it is worth a great deal to us when an anchor does put forth a good effort. It makes the whole community tighter. Especially when it comes to competitions, like what's around the corner."

"The Bright Nights Festival? I heard a mention of it."

"Some people get very competitive during events like these," she said. "Of course, I end up seeing a lot of Bright Nights, so it's not terribly important to me anymore. Do try to keep the peace, dear."

"Right."

"I told Monique about it, to keep her mind off of things." She smiled. "She's a good girl, but I think the potential of love has put her into a bit of a tizzy. I don't want her worrying over nothing. Then again, I think Miss Katrina was right about her too."

I raised my eyebrows. "Really?"

She chuckled. "I think you may have noticed too. About Bob? He's been paying less attention to us other girls and more to her. It takes true love to make a man like that change his ways. Maybe she'll be good for him. But, if he doesn't make his move sometime soon, he might lose his chance at her. And then both of them would be disappointed."

"They would be. Do you think we should nudge them towards each other?" I was already doing so, but I was curious to know what Friga would say.

"Well of course," she replied, then sipped her coffee. "But, we'd best be careful not to mention that we're doing it, or tell Monique who's interested in her. That does carry a risk of her looking to the wrong guy. Still, I don't think it's a bad risk."

"The one I'd worry about that for would be Goose," I said. "She was talking to me a bit about this earlier. She seems to have definitely crossed out Rodeo and Fang, as well as any of the workers."

"I see. Without breaking ties with Goose of course. He's…" she paused, thinking. "Inoffensive, I suppose."

I chuckled. "Inoffensive?"

Friga shrugged. "Not the best material, but no major flaws either. And that fortune teller was right about me too. I tried love for a little while, but it was never for me. I remember one boy saying to me, 'I only see you reflected in your eyes.' I'm not sure what he ever meant by that, but we broke up that evening."

I didn't think Friga was that vain. Although, maybe she had improved since then. But then Patty stopped playing the piano. Deena was crying some. "What's the matter?" Patty asked.

Leaving my cup at the table, I went over. "Deena, are you okay?"

In response, she shook her head. But she didn't say anything.

"It wasn't that bad of a mistake," Patty said. "I think all of us are going to need a lot of practice to be professional singers."

"I-I, I d-don't think I'll b-be good enough," Deena stammered. "I know you really want this, but I don't want to drag you down. And, I don't want to lose you as a friend either. I don't know what to do."

Patty looked surprised. "Oh! But, we'll be best friends forever, right? Even if we got separated, we could still write. And, I don't think that you'll drag us down. In fact, I think I would stand against them if they ask me to drop you as a singing partner. Even if I couldn't be a star, cause you're my friend."

"Are you sure?"

We spent several minutes calming Deena down, although Friga's only comment was that practice made perfect. I ended up inviting her over to my house for dinner at six, so that just the two of us could talk. That would mean that I had to head back home quickly, so I finished off my cocoa as Patty and Deena left.

"An anchor's work is never done, right dear?" Friga asked, slightly amused.

"Seems not," I agreed, then went to return the cup to Brewster.

Back home, I got some things together to make dinner for two of us. I had a good dining table now, a ranch table that was nice and sturdy. It was a pale colored wood, though, contrasting with the darker woods of the Classic series I seemed to be collecting. I had considered staining the ranch table so that it fit in better.

I picked up the five o'clock mail and was surprised to have an envelope claiming to be from the snowman. Inside, there was an item gift and a letter on some nice wintery stationary.

'Dear Nadia,

Thanks so much for helping to make me. Here is a Snowman Fridge for you, which will keep your ice creams perfectly cool even in the heat of summer. It even looks cute!

With gratitude, your Snowman.'

That was nice, I thought. The refrigerator was cute, with a yellow woolly cap for a freezer and a broomstick for a handle. While it didn't go with the rest of my kitchen, I thought I'd hang onto it for a little while at least.

Then Deena arrived, looking not quite as upset. I had meatloaf and mashed potatoes ready then; I always found those things to be great comfort foods. And it seemed quite a lot was bothering Deena at that time.

"I want to be nice and not make anybody upset," she said. "But sometimes I do feel like yelling at people. I just don't, because it might hurt them. Like when Patty teases me for all the health snacks I bring to the weekly party. That's just what I like and I prefer it over the too salty or overly sweet things. Sometimes she talks to me like I'm doing it wrong. That annoys me, but I know she's trying to help me, so I can't stay mad at her."

"You could be more assertive," I suggested. "You are nice; anybody can see that. But you need to also do things that will make you happy and not put up with things just because it would make others happy."

"You think so? But, it can be a hard thing sometimes."

I nodded. "Right, knowing the line between standing up for yourself and standing on someone else's toes. But being too submissive can be as bad as being too bossy."

She sighed. "Yeah. I guess I'm just afraid of messing things up for them. I know Patty's excited for this, and I guess Robin would be too. It might be fun; I don't know if it's for me, though."

"You should think about it, then. Figure out what you want to do, although this is an opportunity that may not come up again."

"It probably won't. I'll do that. Thanks Nadia."

There was a knock at the door, so I excused myself to answer it. "Oh, good evening Goose," I said. "What is it?"

"Hi Nadia," he said. "I hope this doesn't sound too bad, but did you happen to get something from the snowman?"

I nodded. "Yeah, a Snowman Fridge. Why?"

His eyes widened. "Really? That's like the last piece of the Snowman series that I need, since I got the Snowman Clock today. It's pretty rare, but still, would you trade it to me?"

I smiled. "Sure. Let me get it real quick." I went over to my wardrobe to pull it back out.

"Oh, you almost have a rare series collected?" Deena said. "Congratulations, Goose."

"Yeah," he said proudly. "It's taken a lot of work, since they don't sell them and making a perfect snowman is so tough. And it's only the perfectly happy ones that will give you the furniture. But I got something out of my post office storage that should be worth it."

I went back to the door and gave the fridge's item leaf to him. "There you go. I wasn't sure what to do with it myself."

"Thank you so much! Then, here you go." He put that leaf in his bag and traded it out for another, which he handed to me. "This is a Classic Vanity. It's actually a pretty tough piece to track down and it comes with a big price attached. That's why I kept it, but I think you'll get better use out of it than me."

"Oh, thanks. This should go well with everything else."

It was a particularly dramatic day, I think, even though it wasn't one big thing happening. But many days were like this: I worked on parts of several problems, although most were not resolved immediately. Friga was right, though. The sense of community that I got in return was worth all the work.

* * *

Friday, February 6th

At a quarter to noon, I met with Patty and Derwin at the train station. "This has been an interesting trip," Derwin said. "I'll make sure to write a nice report on this place for the club magazine, so watch for that."

"Thanks, and it was fun having you around too," I said, smiling. Then I turned to Patty. "So you're moving to Seabreeze, then?"

She nodded. "Yeah, the music executives said they would accept all three of us. Deena's still not sure thought." She looked a bit saddened. "It'll be different without her around… but at least we're still friends. And, I guess if I really want to be somebody's friend, I ought to respect what they want to do too. I hope she finds something that will make her happy."

"Right. Well I'll be here for her, and I think this will make her better."

"That's good…"

"Wait!" Deena came running down the path, nearly slipping on a patch of ice. "Oof."

"Oh, careful there," Patty said, going over to her. "Are you okay?"

She paused to stop sliding, then walked over more carefully. She had her bag hung at her side. "Yeah, I'm good. I'm going to Seabreeze too."

"Really? That's great!"

She smiled. "Yeah. I thought about it, after the audition, and I feel like this is something I really want to do too. And, maybe it can help me be more assertive too." She giggled. "Which means, I'm going to find a healthy snack someday that you'll love too."

Patty laughed at that. "Oh my, how now, is that a threat? Well if I get to make an all girl group with my two best friends, then I guess I can deal with that."

"Good! Oh right. Here you go, sugarbill." She came up to me and handed me a card. "This is my recipe for the honey date bars that you like. Just make sure to get the right kind of oats, or it doesn't turn out so well."

"Thanks. Good luck, both of you." I hugged the two of them. "And you're welcome to write or come back to Verdant any time. You too, Derwin."

"Of course," Deena said. "We'll have to make sure to send you a copy of our first album, Nadia."

"Autographed too!" Patty suggested. The train whistle came in then.

At least it was a happier parting than the last one our town had. I said goodbye to them as the three of them got on the train, and they responded from the windows. I hoped that my neighbors would find happiness in their careers. And Derwin in his future camping trips; he was quite into such travels.

One person did hop out of the train, waving to the conductor as she went. She was a bright pinkish-red frog, wearing a cute white dress with many pink hearts. Her winter gear was all white trimmed with pink fur. "Oh, hi splish!" she said to me, shaking my hand as the train left. "I'm Puddles. Is there space to move in here?"

I smiled. A new villager was great. "Certainly, and welcome to Verdant. I'm Nadia, the anchor."

* * *

_Very chaotic chapter! But when you think about it, it is like the days are in AC games. All sorts of random mini-dramas going on. I will try to avoid so many at once from here on out, but it does depend on timing._

_A lot of this particular chapter was inspired by what goes on in the games. Friga says a line straight from a random Snooty conversation in WW, the igloo from PG (the Gamecube one), the flowers… and the giant snowman. Me and my younger sister attempted to make a perfect giant snowman for a week before managing it. It does tower over the trees and houses!_


	17. Bright Nights

**Chapter 16: Bright Nights**

Friday, February 13th

As it so happened, the last day of the Bright Nights festival fell on Valentine's Day. I had watched my neighbors over that week make their houses bright and colorful. As she said, Friga just put a few lights up to participate, but didn't go all out. I think she may have lent some to Monique, though, as my friend had managed to get a number of light strands for her place. There had been a few bragging spats, but nothing too bad.

But it was Friday the thirteenth, so if anything was to go wrong, it was probably to happen on that day. It didn't help that there had been a wet snow last night which had put a layer of slick ice all over town. When I left my house that morning, I found that the paths had not been cleared as usual either. Fortunately, I was the only one living in my area, so I just walked carefully on the ice.

I encountered Goose by the train station, using his shovel to clear the area. "Hello!" I called out to him. "So it is you who clears the paths every morning."

He waved to me. "Morning, Nadia. Yup, that's me. I usually get up way before anyone else and get it done." Then he stomped on a piece of ice to break it up so that he could shovel it away. "But this morning, all this ice broke my shovel! Then I had to wait on Nook to open his place and hope that he had a new one. He did, so I can get back to work. But it's gonna take me longer than usual so that I don't end up with another broken shovel. I'm clearing the important areas like this place first."

"Good choice," I said. "Well March isn't too far off, so the snow and ice should leave soon."

He nodded. "Right. I will miss it a bit. Not ice days like this though. Be careful around town."

"I will, thanks."

When I got to the top of the ramp, I stopped to look it over. Goose had cleared the bridge, and he had tried to clear the ramp. However, the slope had gotten icy again. I would have to choose my steps carefully to get to the rest of town and where I needed to go.

Before I did, though, I heard someone coming up to me. Bob was there, all bundled up in a colorful but not clashing set of winter gear. He slipped and nearly fell down, catching a nearby tree for balance. "Aw geez," he said. "This isn't a day for a klutz to be wandering about."

"Probably not," I said. "What are you doing up here?"

He smiled sheepishly and got back up. "Oh, hi. I'm looking for Monique. Have you seen her? I checked by her house, but she wasn't there."

I shook my head. "No, I haven't seen her today."

"I see… maybe I'll check around here one more time… could you tell her that I want to talk with her, if you see her first?"

"Sure, I'll keep that in mind. Be careful now."

"Right, you too." I watched as he tried skating with his shoes instead of walking. The ice was rough, though. I still had to get down the hill, as I had a book to return to the library and some mail to send. I felt that I might be safe in not weeding right away, as it was supposed to warm up later on.

At the bottom of the ramp, I slid some, but managed to remain on my feet. I made my way to the town hall. The giant snowman was already gone, which was a slight disappointment. And there wouldn't be much longer to make snowmen, according to my neighbors. But the coming of spring was enough to make up for the parting of winter. For now, I watched the large icicles hanging from the roof warily as I went inside.

I found Tortimer talking with Pelly behind the counter. "One of those times when quiet can be sad," he said. Then he noticed me and waved. "Ah, good morning sprout! But not so nice with all the ice, huh?" He laughed.

"It's definitely a slip and slide day," I replied, smiling. "I've got a couple of letters to mail."

"Oh, sure," Pelly said, taking the envelopes from me. "We were just talking about that, kind of. It's the day before Valentine's Day and we don't have a lot to mail out yet. Last time I worked over Valentines, we were swamped from the twelfth to the fifteenth!"

"We don't have any couples living in Verdant," Tortimer said. "You might get some notes between friends and maybe some international cards."

"I wouldn't say there won't be any couples for the holiday," I commented. "But it's a secret, and it all depends on what happens in the next twenty-four hours."

"Oh really?" Pelly smiled warmly. "Well that's sweet. I hope I get to hear about it. I always love a good romance."

"You could always send some cards of friendship out," Tortimer told me, winking. "Anybody would appreciate that."

"Right. I'll look into it and see if there's anything that can be done quickly."

I then left them to continue their conversation while I went to the library. It looked much better now, with more books packing all the shelves and better magazines available. There were new green curtains on the windows and a new simple carpet on the floor. In the middle of the room, there was a square table with some old magazines and a book on it. That was new.

Helen was in one of the chairs, with a blanket wrapped around her. "Oh, good morning Nadia," she said. "I'm sorry about the lack of space now."

"It's not too bad," I said, turning over the books I had borrowed. "But what's it for?"

"I'm trying to raise money to get a separate building for the library," she said, taking the books from me. She skimmed them over, then set them in a box for the time being. "So I'm selling off the old magazines that were around. And, I know it's a library, but I've managed to get a permit to sell magazine subscriptions and a few books here too. I mean to have a fundraising event too in the future. But," she glanced out the icy window, "not now. When it warms up and I feel more comfortable in going outside."

I nodded. "I see. I can help you plan the event if you need the help."

"Thanks, that would be good. The thing is, to get the money for a library building, that's going to cost a lot, as much as the houses. I'm still considering the options. We should probably talk about it later when I have more information."

I agreed to that. After buying one of the gardening magazines and borrowing another book, I left the town hall. I found Rodeo walking on the town hall plaza; he was scowling and grumbling. This struck me as very odd, since I'd never seen the bull get angry or annoyed over anything. Maybe he'd run into bad luck, or maybe the ice affected him more. He was taller and larger than anyone else in town, after all.

"Hey Rodeo," I called over, walking carefully across the icy stones. "What's going on?"

On seeing me, he took a deep breath. "Oh, hi Nadia," he said. "I'm sorry, but this is starting out to be a very bad day."

"The ice is bad, but is something else bothering you?"

He nodded. "Yeah. It's Bob. I just don't get why he…" Rodeo glowered off at nothing.

That worried me; I had hoped they would become friends, but an argument would ruin things. "What did Bob do?"

"Well he didn't really do anything… it's just unfair." He put his right hoof-hand to his chin. "I was showing how to breed hybrid flowers, remember? And he wanted something pink, so he had several cosmos and a pair of roses, all in white and red. And then this morning, I got up and checked my flowers. I had a new yellow rose pop up, but Bob's patch had a pink rose in it! That was just incredibly lucky; here I've been trying for months to get any hybrid rose, and he gets the colored rose he wants in just a few days! And then when he came by, I wasn't sure what to say. He got all excited and picked it, then ran off without saying anything. It's just so unfair… why did he have to get lucky so quick?" Rodeo blinked his eyes, crying now.

"I see…" I took his other arm and patted it. "There's not much you can do about luck. Maybe you'll get luckier when spring comes."

"Yeah… they are supposed to do better in warmer seasons. He could have said something about it, though, instead of just running off rudely. I should talk with him." He paused. "Not now, though. I still kind of angry."

"That's a wise choice," I said. "I saw Bob out earlier, although I think he has other plans for today. So what are you doing down here? It's dangerous out today."

"I know. But when I was working in my garden earlier, my shovel broke on all the ice. And Nook's store was already sold out of shovels for today! Isn't that odd, chaps?"

"Not really," I said. "Goose broke his shovel on the ice too; he was the one who bought it, so he could clear the paths around town."

"I see." He sighed. "You see, it is a bad day. Deena was telling me about some feng shui techniques to try increasing my luck. Maybe that'll help. I think I've still got the magazine at home."

"It's worth a shot. You can also ask Helen in the library for books on that."

"I guess. But, if Nook's out of shovels, I think I'll just head back home for the day." He shivered. "I can't wait to see spring again. There's going to be the spring blossoms, and the flower festival… I hope my garden really gets going by the flower festival."

Since he started to cheer up at that thought, I walked with him back to the northern part of town, talking about the spring festivities. Apparently the flower festival didn't have to be quite as showy as the one in Chime City. But I wondered about that.

As we approached the western ramp, we saw Monique standing near the bottom of it, her ears twisted back. She had a new coat, a red one with pink fur trim. Apparently, no one had managed to clear this ramp yet, although some tracks were there from someone coming down.

"Hello Monique!" Rodeo called over. "Looks treacherous there, doesn't it?"

She turned back and smiled to us. "Oh, hello Rodeo, Nadia. Yes, this doesn't look good." She crossed her arms over her chest. "I managed to get down because I wanted to pick something up from the Able shop. But, I don't know about getting back up."

"The other ramp isn't good either," I said. "But, it looks better than this one. It's a long way around for you two, though."

"Hmm, yes," she said. "But, it's probably safer that way. Are you two headed that way?"

"Yeah," I said. "It's not exactly a morning to do…"

"Monique!" a shout from the top of the ramp grabbed our attention. It was Bob, who didn't heed the snowy ramp's dangers and started coming down to us. He started sliding halfway down.

"Be careful," Monique called back.

Not that it helped much; he tumbled down the last few feet and disappeared into a deep snow bank. The three of us went over to check on him, as quickly as we could manage without slipping ourselves. "Bob, you okay?" I asked.

He sat up, his purple fur glistening with white snow. "Uh, yeah, for now. Oh!" He opened up his bag and pulled out the pink rose. Then he held it out to the other cat, who looked bewildered. "Monique, will you be my Valentine? I mean, go on a date with me tomorrow because it's Valentine's Day and I like you, and um…" he smiled weakly, seeming bashful that he couldn't come up with a cool way to ask it. "I grew this just for you."

She didn't seem to know what to say either, given the way her tail stilled and her whiskers twitched. But then she smiled at the mention of the rose. "It is lovely," she said, accepting it. "Okay, I'd be happy to."

"Aw yeah!" Bob said, flopping back into the snow.

Which made Monique giggle. "But not if you're a block of ice!"

Rodeo nudged me, so I looked to him while Monique was trying to drag Bob out of the snow pile. "I don't think I could be mad at him for that," the bull said quietly to me. "They look so happy; maybe it was a gift from the angels."

"It could be," I agreed.

Bob was back on his feet now, flicking snow off his head and arms. on seeing us, he smiled and came over to shake Rodeo's hand. "Hey man, thanks for your help with the flower! You can keep the ones I left up there, it's all right by me." Then he looked to me and winked. "Thanks to you too," he mouthed.

I nodded and smiled while Rodeo grinned. "You're welcome," he said. "Flowers should make everyone happy, so it's great."

"Yeah!" Then Bob snapped his fingers. "Hey, I know! The ice is awful today, but let's see who we can drag to the coffee shop, and we can watch movies today! That'd be fun!"

"It is a day to stay indoors," Monique said. "But, it'd be better with friends."

"Sure, that sounds great," I said. "Maybe a summertime flick."

"I've got some great ones. Oh, how about a western?"

And we ended up watching movies much of the day.

I did manage to leave in the early afternoon between movies, to check into Nook's shop. "Good afternoon," the tanuki said. "It's been a quiet day."

"We've been watching movies over in the coffee shop," I told him. "Nobody wants to go far today. But I wanted to ask if I still had time to order some Valentine cards for tomorrow, and some little treats to go with them."

"Since it's a holiday, I can manage a special rush order," he replied. "It only costs a few bells to cover for it, depending on the quantity. Here, I've got a special holiday catalog and let you find what you're after. I can get it in…" he glanced at the clock, "if you order now, I can get to your house in at five o'clock, allowing you time to put them together in time for morning delivery tomorrow. How does that work?"

"That's great." I took the catalog and looked through it.

Since I was just doing a friendship greeting, I skipped over much of the romantic cards and gifts. After considering a flowery card and another with seashells, I picked out one that had a number of smiley faces on it. The front said, 'You Win!' and the inside said, 'And your prize is a dozen smiles and a hug! Happy Valentine's Day to my friend.' I got one for all of my neighbors, and then an extra two to send to Deena and Patty in Seabreeze. I also got some fruity lollipops to go with them.

In the evening, I wrote notes on the insides of the cards, signed them, then put a pair of lollipops with them in the envelope. My trek down to the town hall was still treacherous, but not as bad as this morning. The town was fairly quiet, but I did encounter Puddles on the way back. She was kneeling by a tree, holding onto her net.

"Good evening, Puddles," I said. "What're you doing out in the ice?"

"Oh, hi Nadia," she said softly. "Please be quiet; I'm bug hunting."

"Bug hunting in winter?" I asked. "I caught some bees a while back, but I haven't seen many bugs."

"Yeah, they're tough to find this time of year. But look over there." She pointed to an area off the path.

It was an open area near the river, where the snow and ice both glistened. On the ground, there was one of the snowballs that naturally showed up every day. I didn't notice anything that could show an insect at first. But then, I noticed that the snowball was moving towards us, with no one behind it. "There's one by the snowball?"

The pink frog nodded. "It's got to be a dung beetle. They're really rare, and only show up in winter. But they're also really hard to catch. I've seen them before, but they scurry away and hide so fast. I'm trying to plot out how to catch this one, especially since I don't want to be moving too fast."

A dung beetle… something struck me as out of place with this insect, like it was the wrong time of year. Maybe back on Earth, it would be, but I didn't pay much attention to bugs back then. "Can you trap it by putting your net over the snowball?"

She shook her head. "I've tried that and they dig away. Maybe if I got it onto an ice patch where it couldn't dig. Say, could I get your help with it?"

"I'll try," I said. "What do you want me to do?"

"Just pick up the snowball when I ask you to. That should startle it into running away from you, where I can catch it. I'll sneak over there."

"Okay."

I waited on Puddles to walk around the snowball to the other side. The dung beetle didn't seem to notice. Then I stepped into the beetle's path; I caught sight of its feelers occasionally, waving over the snowball.

Puddles crept over with her net ready. "Ooo… kay… now!"

I grabbed the snowball; a second later, the black beetle dropped off it. The bug scurried away, heading over an ice patch. Its legs didn't slip there as much as ours did. Before it got into a snow patch it could hide in, Puddles dropped the net over it, swept it up with a twist of the handle, then dropped it into the pouch of the net. The dung beetle struggled for a bit, then was captured in one of the plastic cages.

"All right!" Puddles said, bringing the cage out. "That's my first dung beetle! Thank you so much, Nadia."

"You're welcome," I said. I looked at the bug in its cage. It seemed at a loss of what to do now that it had no snowball to push around. "I don't think there's one in the museum yet."

"Hmm, splish… I think I'll keep it for a few days and enjoy its company. Maybe try to catch another one. If not, I'll turn this one in." She smiled sheepishly. "I hope you don't think I'm weird, though, being a girl who likes bugs."

"That's not too weird," I said. For one thing, she was a frog, so bug catching didn't seem weird around her. For another, "Back in the mortal realm, my daughter would catch bugs all the time."

Her eyes widened. "Oh really? I didn't think you were so old. I mean, not that that's a bad thing either," she added hurriedly. "I just find bugs to be cute in their own ways."

I chuckled. "They can be seen that way. And I wasn't really old, just older than I look."

"Okay." She looked at her beetle again, then put it away in her purse. "And that's one step closer to my golden net! That's part of why I moved here, actually."

"A golden net?" I asked.

"Yup! See, here's my bug book." She pulled out a scrapbook that had some metallic scarab beetles on the cover. Inside, there were many pages describing various bugs that lived in Animal Crossing. "I've got so many entries marked off as ones I've captured, and, there, it's already got my dung beetle. There's an award too. If you capture a hundred different kinds of bugs, then you receive a special decoration for your house and a golden net!"

In Puddles' book, there was a page describing the dung beetle, from when they could be found to figuring out if you had captured a male or a female. There was a silver star in one corner, noting the date, time, and place that she had first captured one, which obviously was just minutes ago. "That sounds like an impressive accomplishment," I said.

"Yeah, I've been working on it for years. You generally find the most bugs in late summer, but then I realized that I hadn't gone bug hunting much during early to mid spring. So I looked for a place where I could spend an entire spring season to look for new bugs, and this town fit. It seems pretty nice here too, and I'm sure that something rare is bound to pop up around that giant tree up there."

I nodded. "That's true. And there might be something odd in the cave underneath that hill. The entrance is near the border and if caves really are an oddity, then I'd expect an unusual bug or two to be around."

"Really?" When I confirmed it, she clapped her hands. "Great! I've only seen two other towns with caves, and I've been to a lot of places. I'll have to go poking around then."

"Just be careful around there. We still haven't gotten around to getting lights in there." It turned out that something like that would have to come out of the town enrichment fund and there weren't enough donations yet to cover environmental lighting.

"Sure thing. Well now that I've got my new buggy buddy, I'm going back inside. It's cold!"

"Not as cold as it has been," I commented. "I'll see you around."

"Right, later sweetie!"

* * *

Saturday, February 14

Since today was a holiday, and the end of Bright Nights, and the time of our town's weekly party, I decided that I wanted to bake a cake today. It had to be something really special, for all three occasions. There were order forms in my cabinets for something pre-made, but I always had more fun making such things myself. However, I found out that I would have to buy a frosting kit, as I had no such things in my kitchen drawers. I filled out a form and asked for rush delivery; for this order, I put it into one of my cabinets to send off, then opened it back up to get a receipt. It promised I would get them at five, which should be plenty of time to decorate.

At nine o'clock, I had the radio on and was doing house-cleaning and prep work. I stepped outside briefly to pick up my mail. It was above freezing today, so the ice had mostly melted off. However, the ground was still cold and wet, so the snow remained. There was more mail than usual, so maybe things had picked up at the post office yesterday.

I had a few friendship cards for Valentines Day, from Monique, Goose, and Fang. Monique's had come with some strawberry hard candies, which I put into a plain candy dish I had in my kitchen. But there was also one of those envelopes labeled Midgard. Smiling at the thought that I would get a letter from him on Valentine's Day, I opened it up to read. Then two small gift boxes came out of it, not one. I didn't think he could send anything between realms. I read the letter first.

'Dear Nadia:

It's almost Valentine's Day, and just past what should have been our wedding anniversary. I keep thinking of things that I would be doing if you were still here. We had been planning on that vacation, so we would have been at the beach. Maybe at a fancy restaurant for dinner, or maybe I would just make you some cookies again. Hopefully not burning them; I had been doing better the past few years, right?

But no, I'm here inland where it's cold. I'm with the kids, and my parents, and yet alone. Things have just seemed so bleak, but I keep striving on. I hadn't been sure how long I could go on like that. But then, I had the strangest dream. I remember it unusually well, which makes me think that it somehow was real.

Allen, Lucia and I were all getting off a train; it was an old-fashioned thing, drawn by a steam engine. And we met you at the station. Monique was there, although as a person, not a cat, yet that didn't strike me as odd until I remembered it upon awakening. I don't remember exactly, but we went to visit the homes of both of you. It was like some lost little town in the countryside. I remember it being green and fresh. And so peaceful. It was one of those places that you couldn't imagine anything bad happening.

Then the five of us had a picnic at the beach. And you had a letter for me, which said that we were apart now, but we couldn't let the division of death overwhelm us. That's when I felt that it was a dream, even though I didn't want it to be, because we were together again. I know I kissed you, and I woke up not long after that. When I did, I immediately went for my journal and wrote down what I could remember of the letter. I had a feeling that I had to, or I would forget it.

When I had woken up enough to really go through that letter, I had some doubts that it was real. Maybe it was just a dream thing. I know I didn't manage to get it all down, but much of it was there. But then, it seemed so much like something that you would have written. I wanted it to be a message from beyond, but I couldn't quite believe that.

That is, until Lucia told us over breakfast that she had dreamed of you, in a dream that was eerily close to mine. And Allen had dreamed of it too. I hadn't thought it was possible to share dreams until then. Maybe we had met you. It makes the letter I have in my journal seem more real.

I wasn't sure what you meant by saying that you wouldn't wish me to join you. But I think I understand now. The place you're at can only be reached through death, and possibly dreams. It would only make the two of us happy to be together, while many more people here would be saddened even more. Especially our kids. But if the letter is true, and the dream is true, then you're in a beautiful green place now, almost heaven as you say. So I should be happy for you and do what I can here to make things better.

There's this darkness that doesn't want to let go, some thoughts that I could never be happy again. But I'm starting to feel like those are lies, trying to drag me down. I still have blessings in this world which I'm grateful for. Sometimes I feel the world is bleak, but more often now, I think not. Tomorrow doesn't seem so dreadful, even as a holiday that celebrates romance and love.

I think I'll make cookies tomorrow anyhow, and share them with people. It's like love doesn't end, even at death. Maybe I can make myself believe in that too.

Adoringly, Mitchell'

So that dream had been real, even crossing over between realms. And the letter had helped him. They would be okay. That was a relief to me. And there might even be another dream like that to come.

I checked out the two gifts that had come with the letter. One held a half-dozen chocolate chip cookies. Maybe his wish to make me some had somehow ended up them being given. The other gift box had a gold chain necklace inside. Attached to it was a simple gold band ring. On looking it over, I found an engraving on the inside of the ring. It was my wedding ring, somehow having found me again.

While we couldn't be together, Mitchell still managed to make me smile that Valentine's Day. I still couldn't take off the black choker on my neck, but I went ahead and put my ring's necklace on over it. The ring was too big for a child's fingers, but I would keep it close to my heart.

* * *

That evening, I brought my cake down to The Roost for the party. I had made a chocolate cherry upside-down cake, white icing down the sides and puffy stripes along the edges. Since the cherries cooked with the cake had darkened, I made a heart shape of brighter cherries on the top. Some brightly colored sprinkles all over finished it off. On the way, I had toured around the decorated houses again. I had to decide how many points to assign for the Bright Nights festival.

Two houses I was fairly certain wouldn't win. Friga had just put some blue and white icicle lights around her house, which looked nice, but with little effort. But I knew how she felt. In a similar way, Fang had not done much more, some orange and yellow bulb light strands and a paper lantern by the door. It was a bit spooky, probably not intentionally. He likely hadn't felt like doing anything elaborate either.

That left five houses where effort had been made, to varying degrees of success. Rodeo had many multicolored strands of flower lights; it didn't seem that wintery and was put together haphazardly. Monique had lots of red, pink, and white lights around her roof, windows, and door, but that was it. In the southern part of town, Bob had made a snowflake on one side of his roof and a rainbow on the other, both in multicolored strands.

As for the other two villagers, they had the most impressive houses. Puddles had a large sun made of yellow lights on her roof, but then added lighted snowflake decorations all over the roof, the walls, the door, and even her gyroid. In her windows, she made little winter displays that could be seen from outside. Goose made his house seem to explode with color and light, with colored globes made up of a light strand coiled up, metallic pompoms, tube lights along the edges, and even a large light-up shooting star on the roof. There was a lot going on there, but it was awe inspiring in that way.

When I got down to the Roost, the party was just getting started. I noticed that all the villagers had come out, and a good number of the workers. Bob and Monique were sitting on a bench happily talking with each other, while Goose was trying to get Puddles into making up for the absence of Patty and Deena. "We gotta have new music makers now, buh-kay," he said.

"Well I can sing," the frog said, laughing. "But it's not going to be any good!"

"Oh my, that cake is lovely," Celeste said, as I was setting up my chocolate cherry dessert. "Did you make it yourself?"

I nodded. "It's more fun that way, I think," I told her.

"You did well," she said, smiling. Then she put a wing to her beak. "I'm supposed to be eating healthy, but that just looks so tempting…"

"I did bring milk," I said, bringing out a large bottle of it. "So you can be partly healthy."

She laughed. "Of course, that makes up for things."

"Nadia!" Rodeo came up, looking delighted. "Something great happened today! I got an orange rose in my garden. See?" He tapped near his left horn, where he was wearing the brilliant orange flower.

I smiled for him. "That's great, congratulations. You just had to wait another day to get lucky."

"Seems like it, chaps," he agreed. "It's not a gold one, but I'm making progress."

I moved around the party as usual, talking with many different people. Several of them asked where I'd gotten the necklace, so I told them what it was. "You do look much happier for it," Friga told me, patting my arm.

"I am. I know my family is doing good now, and getting better."

"How delightful. Well I don't mean to be a mood killer, but I'm going to be moving out tonight."

"Oh, to head back to Galacia?" I asked, recalling her story.

She nodded. "It's about mid-November there, earlier than I usually move in. But you're not going to have snow around much longer, but I mean to be there for the whole winter this time. But Verdant's been a good town to me. A little quiet, but you are just starting out."

I gave her a hug. "Well it's been good having you around too, Friga. Have you talked with Monique about it?"

"Yesterday, actually, after she told me how Bob had asked her out. They do look quite happy together." Friga smiled to me. "I'm sure you two girls will get along here marvelously. Just don't forget to pamper yourself every now and then. It's good for you."

"I'll keep that in mind."

About an hour into the party, Tortimer managed to get the stage from Goose and Rodeo, who had finished singing a country song. The old turtle brought down the microphone to where he could talk comfortably. "Hey there folks, glad you're enjoying yourselves. Well since we're all gathered here, we've decided to make the announcement of the winner of the Bright Nights Festival contest. After tallying up the numbers, I've got the results right here." He waved a card, then brought it up to read. "Ahem. In third place, we have Bob with his rainbow and sunshine design."

"All right!" Bob cheered, causing laughter around the room.

"It was very nice and colorful," Tortimer said. "You get a thousand bells for it. In second place is Puddles with her snowflakes and sun design. You get two thousand bells for it."

"Oh my, really?" Puddles squealed, clasping her hands in front of her face. "I barely had any warning that it was coming, so I was worried."

"It was a lovely winter house," he said, smiling to her. "And that means that the top house of this year's Bright Nights Festival is… Goose, with his fireworks and shooting star design! Come on up here!"

"Awesome!" he called, walking by Mabel to come onto the stage. "I wanted to have the absolute brightest house in town."

"You certainly accomplished that," I said.

"Yeah, I can see that star from my house," Monique added.

Tortimer brought out a trophy, a white cup design with a snowflake on top. "And for winning the festival contest, you get this lovely Bright Nights trophy and three thousand bells. Congratulations, and thank you for all your hard work to bring brightness to the winter nights."

Goose held the trophy up proudly. "Yeah, there ain't no darkness that's gonna put out my spirit! Especially not when's spring is just down the road."

The whole room cheered for him and that statement.

* * *

_I haven't seen Bright Nights for myself, although that should be coming up in my game soon. And Friga's gone now. Makes Verdant sparsely populated, but I will make up for that…_


	18. The Threat of the Mists

**Chapter 17: The Threat of the Mists**

Sunday, February 22

The snow was gone now, leaving Verdant in a not too appealing state of mud and brown. Still, it was above freezing most days, which was a relief. I spent more of my days fishing, as the end to my current mortgage was in sight. As I was looking over a small bitterling that I had reeled in, I heard a call from above. "Nadia! A moment please." Then Pete, dressed in his blue mailman outfit, landed by me.

"Good afternoon, Pete," I said. "What is it?"

"Phew; it's going to be harder to find people once spring sets in," he commented. "Never mind that. A call for you came in through the town hall. Tortimer says you should come immediately to take it."

A call? I had known that there were phones here, as the town hall had one, as did Rover's train. But I hadn't seen any other telephone yet. So it had to be something important if a call was being made. "All right, I'll be right over there." I put the fish and my pole away in my bag.

"Good, then I'll see you there." Pete stepped back, then jumped to take off again.

I quickly walked west along the river and crossed over by the ramp. The wet ground didn't lend itself to good footing, so I didn't want to risk tripping by going at a run. At the town plaza, I scuffed my feet against the stones so I didn't track mud into the building, then went into the town hall.

Pete was near the counter, talking with Pelly. Once he saw me enter, he went over and lifted a portion of the counter to let me in back. After thanking him, I went over to the area Tortimer had as an office. It was neat, but quite crowded with things: folders, books, papers, office supplies, and the corded tan phone sitting partly off its base.

"Hi, I'm here about that call," I said, picking up the phone.

The old tortoise nodded. "Right, go on and take a seat. Press the note button to let them know you're on the line."

That was something about a phone that I wasn't familiar with, a musical quarter-note symbol on one button aside from the rest. I pulled over a nearby chair to sit in and pressed the note. After a few seconds, there was a click as the line connected back. "Hey, this is Rover. I've got Nadia now, right?"

"Right," I said. "What's going on, Rover?"

"We've got a problem," he said, sounding serious, like he was quite busy at the moment arranging things. "A town called Sweetvale was unexpectedly taken by the mists. From what we can tell, the anchor Pierre was tricked into leaving by a mantis person, which in this realm could only be Loki. This was about… two weeks ago. This would be the first town that he has actively destroyed, so we're putting out a warning to all anchors and mayors that they should not trust this mantis and deal with him carefully if he appears."

"That's good information to spread, although I had already known of that."

"Of course. And the other issue, which is why I wanted to call you myself, is that we need to relocate the inhabitants of Sweetvale. I've managed to locate all but Pierre, so they all need rehousing. However, they will require special attention and care as the mists do strange things to a person's head. A city doctor would tell you more about this. Your town has the space, so are you willing to take in, let's see, two of the victims?"

"Sure, I'll do that. I should have time and my neighbors are friendly folks."

"Great! Okay, you'll need to go to Silvane City in order to pick them up. And… hang on, I need to check the list and time frame…" there was a rustling of papers on the other end. "Right… you should be okay with heading out now, although you may want to put a temporary hold on new residents besides these two for a while. They're going to need extra help in moving in, so check your map to see where available spots are before going. When you get to the hospital of Silvane, you'll be picking up Pecan and Dora. Got that?"

I had taken out a piece of paper to write down the information. "Silvane… got it."

"Thanks a lot! And do make sure to talk to the doctor before you leave Silvane, as those afflicted by the mists need different care from those who are just sick."

"I will. I'll talk to you later, Rover."

"I hope so. I've already talked with Tortimer, so you can close the line now. Bye!"

As I put the phone back in place, Tortimer asked, "So we're taking in one of the victims?"

"Two of them, actually," I said. "Sounds like I have to head out to an whole different district to get them."

"Ah, then be sure to bring something to keep yourself occupied on the train. And don't go getting yourself lost."

"I'll be careful, thanks." I got up to double check on the available signposts that marked the places for villager houses.

Over an hour later, I was at the police station. Copper was in there, as Booker was out on patrol. The tall dog saluted me. "Afternoon, Nadia. Is there anything I can help you with?"

I nodded. "Yeah, we need to close down on new residents for a couple of days. I'm going out to pick up some villagers whose town got taken by the mists, so we'll need to give them some time to settle in."

"Ah, that makes sense. All right. There haven't been any queries on residency in a little while, so there shouldn't be an issue." Copper shrugged. "Some of it has to do with the time of year. Late February into early March isn't the prettiest time of year for any town, so people are reluctant to move in. Still, you might want to spend this time to enhance the environment and make things attractive. Spring itself is a popular time for moving to a new place, if it's a great one."

"Huh. I'll keep that in mind, thanks."

"Anytime," he said cheerily. "I hope you have a good trip."

At the station, I couldn't call for a ride directly to Silvane. I would have to get a ride to Chime first, so I selected that. While I waited, Bob and Monique walked by. "Hey, pthhpth, where are you headed off to?" Bob asked me.

"Silvane City," I told them. "I'm picking up a couple of new residents; they were caught in a town that vanished."

"Whoa, I heard about that!" Bob said, his tail going still. "That town Sweetvale got taken by the mists because Loki tricked its anchor. It must have been terrible."

"How awful," Monique said, looking spooked herself. "Are, are you going to be okay, Nadia?"

I nodded. "I'll be fine. I got called by Rover on this, so I'll be back." At the edge of town, the train whistled.

"Well have a good trip," Bob said. "Just don't take too long."

I said goodbye to them and boarded when the doors came open. It was Blanca's train as usual. But she was busy with a pair of quarreling passengers, so I didn't get to talk with the white cat much.

* * *

Friday, June 27

Chime City

On putting in a request for Silvane City, the Chime station informed me that it would be half an hour before the interdistrict train would arrive. I set my watch alarm for twenty-five minutes, then went into the fountain plaza to look around. It was a warm sunny day, with plenty of people out walking around and chatting. Nobody seemed familiar to me; I considered the theater, but seeing a show would take up too much time. So I looked around the shops I hadn't been to yet.

There was one at the edge of the plaza that I wasn't sure if it was open or not. There were brown curtains in the windows, with nothing on display. The door was wooden, with only one slot for mail and another to check who was coming in. And the sign was simpler than the others around the fountain, a wooden one with 'Rare Furnishings Within' painted in black letters. If it wasn't for the fox standing by the partly opened door, I wouldn't have given it another thought.

He was a red fox with bushy fur, enough to nearly cover up his black eyes. He wore a green work apron and green shoes, not exactly what one would expect of someone at a rare furniture store. Leaning against the doorway, he seemed to be taking a break to enjoy the weather and blow some bubbles with grape bubble gum.

"Good afternoon," I said to the fox. "Is this store open?"

Popping another bubble, he looked at me. "You interested?" he asked.

"I'm just curious," I replied.

"Very well." He rapped his knuckle against the door. "This is Redd's shop, and I'm Redd. I buy and sell furniture BUT, it must be certain kinds of furniture. I don't deal with the ordinary items you could find in any town store. No, the stuff I get my paws on is the rare stuff. The ones that never show up in your catalog until you've handled them yourself. As such, I deal with an exclusive clientele. This place is members only, sorry. It's a matter of trust."

"Ah, okay," I said. "Thanks for telling me, though."

"Sure." He smirked. "Don't get down, though. You might get the lucky honor of an invitation to the family, if you're worthy of our trust." He stood back up and went inside, closing the door behind him.

So definitely not that store for this visit. And probably not Gracie Grace either; I was trying to finish off my loan and didn't have the money for that kind of thing. But there was the old shoe store, which seemed to be in business. I went over there to check it out.

They were having a sidewalk sale, as racks of shoes were lined up along the store front. There were several customers looking through them. In contrast, there seemed to be only one salesperson out here, a skunk wearing a lightweight tan shirt and dark brown pants. But he seemed to be a friendly fellow, and no one seemed wary of him. I started looking over the shoes myself.

According to a sign, these were like the regular clothes. They would adjust to your foot size and shape to fit best. On some of them, the tread pattern and the heft of the shoe could be adjusted. Rarer (and more expensive) were shoes that could become sandals, slippers, boots, or anything in between. There were also some socks on sale, but just one small rack of them. And the store itself looked dark.

I found a pair of plain green tennis shoes which were said to be waterproof, with either a light or dense tread pattern. Those would be good in the mud we currently had. And they looked to be a good deal at 450 bells. So I took them over to the outdoors register and waited as another customer bought some shoes and socks.

"Oh, and did you hear the gossip about one of Gracie's unique dresses?" a sheep asked her friend, who was the one buying the things. "Apparently there's a curse on one!"

"Oh my gosh, are you serious?" her friend, a dog, asked. "I keep saving up for her special designs. I didn't think one could be cursed."

The sheep nodded. "Yeah, it's called the Valkyrie Dress and it's really expensive too. But people keep returning it to the shop. And it isn't some little tripping curse, no way. This is like a serious bad luck curse, when all kinds of things break around you, your friends all get mad at you, and all the fruit you pick turns out to have worms in them."

"Ew, gross!"

"And nobody's found a way to avoid the curse. It gets worse when you actually wear it too. The only way to get rid of the bad luck is to get rid of the dress. But in places where someone's dumped it in the recycling bin, the whole town falls under the curse. It might have even happened in Sweetvale."

"That's horrible," the dog replied, shuddering. "I hope I never buy a cursed item." She then took her items and a receipt from the skunk. "Thanks Kicks! I hope you get to stay open more often."

"You're welcome," he replied, smiling. Then he looked to me. "Hi, welcome to my open air store. Heh, not much else to it. I'm Kicks, by the way; may I help you with something?"

"Yes, I'd like to buy this pair," I said, handing over the green tennis shoes.

"Oh yes, lovely pair, good for springtime. Is it spring in your town?" He put them on the counter and pulled out a book to make sales notes.

"It's going to be," I said. "Pardon me for asking, but why aren't you using your building?"

Kicks blushed at that. "Oh, well… there's some… problems with it. See, this store was always known for reasonably priced fashions, especially the shoes. I worked here as a clerk. But then, that store," he pointed over to Gracie Grace, "barged into Chime City. For a time, everyone went there for clothing, not here. The last owner went bankrupt and had to close the shop. I bought it from him, hoping to start my own business in the same tradition. But, I didn't have much money myself, and there was nothing left to the business. So I spent several years just shining shoes. I'm working my way back up, though, and now I can actually sell things. Once people started realizing how overpriced Gracie's fashions are, they are asking for a place like this again."

"That's great," I said. "I hope it works out for you this time."

"Me too, thanks. Okay, it's 450 bells for this pair. Is that all?"

"For now." I transferred money over to his register.

He nodded on seeing it. "All right, and thanks for shopping at my place. Come back around when you're in Chime City.'

"I will," I said, putting the green shoes in my bag. I was wearing a pink-hearted dress that I had gotten as a gift from Puddles, with an aurora knit sweater in my bag; my red shoes worked better with this dress than the green ones. My watch beeped, so I headed on over to the train station.

In a short while, a white and blue steam train pulled in and stopped. It seemed like I was the only one getting on board, so I stepped inside. A short bird (possibly a chickadee) in a blue conductor's uniform greeted me. "Hello, and welcome to the interdistrict train," he said. "My name is Cory and I'm the conductor. Where are you headed?"

"Silvane City," I replied.

He nodded. "Okay, that's three stops away. We're fairly full today, so take a seat wherever you can."

"Thanks," I said, coming into the aisle. There were twelve aisles on this train and it seemed like twenty passengers. That didn't leave a lot of empty seats, so I'd have to sit by someone. There was a lot of talking between those that did know each other.

"Oh hey, you're up for Silvane too?" a voice near me said. It was a brown spotted donkey speaking to me. He looked quite fit. "Is it about Sweetvale?"

I nodded. "Actually, yes."

"Oh, well why don't you come here and talk with me?" he offered. Then he grinned. "Don't worry, I don't bite."

I smiled. "All right, thank you." I went over and sat next to him.

"I'm Muller, the anchor of Cliff Town," he introduced himself. "I've heard about you, though; you're that misplaced human anchor from Verdant, right?"

"That's right," I said. "I'm Nadia." This was a nice opportunity, I felt, of a chance to speak with an older anchor. I did have one of my Tales of Adventure books in my bag, but I'd pass that up to speak with Muller.

He grinned. "I thought so!" He pulled a magazine out of his bag, _Trails and More_. "There was an awesome article about your town here, from Derwin." He opened up to an article which had several color pictures of a snowy Verdant.

"Oh, you know him?" I asked. "He was quite interesting."

"Sort of," Muller said. "We're in the same club, although I can only do igloo camping in my own town. For a little while, I tried tent camping overnight in other towns, but the pressure to hurry back was too much after all. I just stick to Cliff now; I made it awesome for camping." He skimmed his hoof hand over part of the article. "You've got a new town, so the club's pretty forgiving on environment. But he says you had a nice potential if you get your tree count up in the southern half of town."

"Yeah, I need to get around to that. It's been an icy winter."

"Ice makes for a good challenge. But yeah, a bit much for tree planting." He turned the page, where there were more photos, including one of our giant snowman. Muller pointed to that. "Now that is awesome. It's dared me to try and match it, or out do it, once winter drops in on my town."

"Get someone good at math to help you," I suggested. "That's how we got that one to be perfect."

"What, a nerd?"

"Nerds can be helpful."

Muller shrugged. "I guess so."

The donkey was mostly interested in camping, rock climbing, and hiking, but I didn't mind talking about those subjects. We also chatted about managing a town and helping out your neighbors. Thankfully, I wasn't the only one who would sacrifice so much time to help others. It seemed to be a common trait in anchors, most likely due to what we had to do.

"If you want a valuable bit of advice from me," he said at one time, putting his hoof to his chin, "I got one for you that's been going between anchors forever, it seems. The guy I heard it from when I was starting heard it from a gal back when he was starting. But, I guess that's because it's darn good advice. How's your house coming along?"

"Pretty good," I said. "Nook tells me that I've got the biggest main floor size now, and I've just about got that mortgage paid off."

Muller nodded. "Nice work. Okay, when you do get it paid off, you're going to get several options on what expansion to do next. The best thing to do is get a second floor and install it with a full bath and a built-in closet. I warn you, it will be expensive, but it's worth it. Once you've got your main floor, your second floor, and your attic, what you want to do is keep the attic as your bedroom, but then make the second floor into a guest bedroom."

"A guest bedroom, huh?"

"That is the best use of that space that I've found," he said. "That way, you can have your villagers at your house overnight if need be. And there will be times when it is needed. Sometimes, they get really sick and need close attention; these mist victims can be that bad off, but I doubt Rover's given you ones like that. Or sometimes you get campers who get in trouble when a thunderstorm pounds through the night; tents don't always hold up to that kind of weather."

"That does make sense," I said.

"Or there's times like I recently had." He paused. "I don't want to say specifics, but two of my townsfolk were dating until a month ago. Their breakup was rather rough on the guy, so I let him stay with me while he needed the support. And then, the girl got called up to the city courthouse and had to undergo a remedial course, as she'd been excessively manipulative with everyone, not just her ex. The remedial courses require a lot of time and attention, so I had her over for a few days while she worked through that. Having a guest bedroom will make things go much smoother for you."

I nodded. "Sounds like it. I hadn't really considered what I was doing with my house much, so thanks."

"Hey, that's what we anchors are here for, to help folks," he said with a smile.

* * *

Saturday, November 3

Silvane City

There was a brisk wind when we got off the interdistrict train, so I pulled out my sweater to put back on. Muller seemed determined to tough his way through it. "Hey Cory man, when are you going to be back by Silvane?"

"We have made a schedule adjustment due to your presence here," the chickadee conductor told us. "Our train will be back here in two hours, at 4 PM precisely, and we've been instructed not to leave until both of you and your new villagers are on board. Please don't dally."

He looked surprised to hear that, twitching his long ears. "Whoa, seriously? You guys wouldn't make that much of an adjustment for us before."

"It's a precaution after what happened with Pierre," Cory told us. "Be careful. I'll see you then." He then turned his attention to a pair of new riders getting on.

"Huh, I hadn't thought things were that serious with that Loki dude," Muller said. "I've heard of anchors vanishing before, but they usually don't go this far with a reaction."

"Loki is different," I said, absentmindedly fingering my choker. "He's a chaotic god spirit who probably doesn't care what happened with all the people of Sweetvale."

"Hmm. Well I ain't about to let Cliff vanish." We left the station and checked the local map. We were both headed for the same place, the hospital which was some distance away. as it was, we walked there together, still talking.

The hospital was a large white building with three stories. It was surrounded by a fairly large garden made up of herbs, bushes, and vegetables. From seeing a few, I figured that the staff might use these for natural medicines and fresh food. There were a lot of windows in this building, letting the sunlight in. But some curtains were drawn for privacy.

Muller nudged me with his hoof. "Hey Nadia, we might be busy the rest of this afternoon, so I wanna say now, you're pretty chill."

"Thanks," I said. "You're nice yourself, and adventurous."

"Of course. Anyhow, if you ever need help from a peer, feel free to write a letter off to me. I'll be glad to help."

"That's good to know." And it was. Knowing another anchor was a good reminder that I was not alone in this in any way.

Inside, the lobby seemed empty, but the hospital seemed busy. Talk from others drifted from the halls but couldn't be understood. A nurse that seemed to be more of a teddy bear than a bear walked by and noticed us. "Oh, hello," she said. "Sorry if you've been kept waiting."

"It hasn't been long," I said.

"Yeah, we're here about the Sweetvale residents," Muller added.

She smiled. "Oh good, good. I'm Hon, give me a second and I'll get the forms." She moved on into a receptionist area, putting down her current clipboard to find a couple of folders. "We're quite busy in healing them, of course, but several are ready to be released to relieve the crowding. Ah-ha… give me your names, towns, and who you've been sent to pick up."

The donkey nodded to me, so I stepped up to the counter. "I'm Nadia from Verdant. I'm picking up Dora and Pecan."

"Okay… here are the forms that you need to look over and sign. And you sir?"

"Muller from Cliff Town, and I was sent to get Needles and Trenton."

"All right, then here are their forms. I'll get one of the doctors to come in here to discuss things with you, and then we'll bring them out."

The forms were part health records; red dots covered over certain areas, likely the private information. And part of them had me acknowledging that I was taking in a special needs villager and that I would care for them appropriately. After filling them out, we waited on Hon to come back with the doctor. He turned out to be a black furred monkey called Zokoto.

"Have either of you taken in mist victims before?" Zokoto asked us.

"No," I said. "I've only been around a few months."

"I have, but it's been a couple of years ago," Muller said. "I could do with a reminder."

The monkey doctor nodded. "Wise. The four you two are taking were the first found, so they're in decent shape. Still, they require medication for the next two weeks. A pill in the morning and an herbal tea at night; we'll send a reminder device to their kitchen pantries shortly. If you come upon them in a state of heavy disorientation and confusion, they might have skipped a dose. In that case, take them home and have them drink the medicinal herb tea then. It'll be in a kitchen cupboard, in a white box with a red cross on it.

"Now, it will be normal for them to be anxious, mildly confused, nervous, easily frightened, and temperamental for about two months after being brought out of the mist. Those four came here about ten days ago. Help them cope with it the best you can. And if any of your other villagers are mischievous, warn them not to mess with the patients. If a holiday like April Fool's Day or Halloween comes up in your town, you will have to tone things down, or make them more silly than scary. At least ask them to participate in events, but be understanding if they are reluctant to do so."

"What about Sports Days?" Muller asked. "We've got one coming up."

He scratched his chin. "They can participate, but it's likely they won't have the energy to keep up if it's very soon. That's another thing: they're likely to sleep longer than most. Some mist patients get nervous about sleeping, so they end up taking naps throughout the day instead of one long sleep. That's fine. I'd say check in on them if you haven't seen them for six hours, especially during the next two weeks."

"Are there any particular problems with the ones we'll be taking in?" I asked.

"Mmm," he looked at the form folders quickly. "Your two girls should be fine. I would make sure that Pecan is taking her medications; she seems to think it undignified when it is important for her health. But you, sir, you've got one of the tanuki."

"Oh really?" Muller asked. "Should I have my Nook help him out then?"

"Not right away," Zokoto said, tapping his finger on the edge of the chair to emphasize that. "We always have problems with the tanuki clan working hard even when they are sick. Trenton needs to be on break while he is on his medication, so be sure to get him into separate housing. Past that, he can help out your store if he gets along with his relative; just tell the owner that he isn't allowed to work full days until myself or another doctor gives approval. Needles is also a worker, so you may need to keep him from working too, but it shouldn't be as hard as with the tanuki."

The donkey nodded. "All right, I'll do my best to get those two to chill."

"That should be all. Once we get their signatures, I'll bring them out here. They've already been instructed on what to do."

Hon and Zokoto came back a few minutes later with four animals. There were the two guys, the tanuki who seemed half-asleep still and a black and gray porcupine who was dressed in a kilt. After them came the two girls I was taking. They were both quite short, their eye level at my chest height. One was a purple squirrel with yellow markings and a fluffy tail that seemed longer than she was tall; she seemed grumpy, looking down at the ground. The other was a white mouse with large ears; she seemed skittish, glancing everywhere.

The doctor introduced Muller to his villagers, while Hon spoke with me. "This is the anchor of your new town, Nadia," she said to the two girls. "And these would be Pecan," she indicated the squirrel, "and Dora," she patted the mouse, making her tense briefly.

"Hello, Pecan, Dora," I said, smiling and offering to shake their paws. "How are you doing?"

"O-okay, I guess," Dora stammered, shaking my hand. "Good to meet you Nadia."

Pecan declined. "Hi, chipmunk. It's stuffy in here and I'd like some decent food."

Blunt and honest. Maybe it was how she was, or maybe it as an aftereffect of the mists. "That shouldn't be too hard to address," I said. "We've got a little over an hour and a half to spend before the train comes back. Hon, is there a good café around that you like?"

The nurse looked pleased to be asked about it. "Oh sure, there's several. You'd probably like the Love of Greens, which is close to the train station. Head back that way, but turn left on the street before that one, Ruby Avenue, and it'll be on the right past a few blocks."

We went with her advice and left to go have some salads at Love of Greens. It was the kind of place that turned salads into an art form, with unusual lettuce varieties, eclectic vegetables, and lavish dressings. At the outdoors area of the café, we discussed what Verdant was like, including who lived there and about our weekly party. I let them see my map to pick out where they'd want to live. Dora surprised me by asking to live at the sign nearest to my house; I think she felt insecure, so I told her I had no problems with that. On the other hand, Pecan wanted somewhere out of the way, so she decided on a place near the lake under the cliff, where one of my options had been at first.

As I was far away from my town, I had suspected that Loki might do something. But, perhaps that was too predictable for a god of chaos. Both the three of us and Muller's group got back to the train station on time, with no interruptions on the rides back. That did make me wonder what he meant to do when he acted next.

* * *

Sunday, February 22

Verdant

When we got off the train, it was early evening. The air was misty and damp, with gray clouds building up overhead. The sun still shone from the edge of the cloud cover, giving the town an eerie orange twilight glow. "It usually isn't so spooky looking around here," I told them, wishing that the trees would start budding. The bare branches weren't helping the atmosphere.

"There's a lot of trees here," Dora said, following me down the steps of the station. "It should be really nice looking in spring… Oh, squeaky, that tree is massive!" She was looking up at the edges of Yggdrasil's canopy.

Pecan looked over the place critically. "It's a muddy dump now."

"Well it is late February," I pointed out. "The snow cover melted off not that long ago."

"It's still quite a change," she said. "Sweetvale was a prestigious place, the most fashionable town in Animal Crossing. If he wasn't an anchor, then Pierre would have been a fierce competitor with Gracie. I spent eight months trying to move in there."

"Well it was very glamorous," Dora agreed. "But I had missed seeing so many trees around. Oh, could we go open up our houses now? I'm worried that I might have lost some things."

"You ought to be more worried if the mist put stuff in your house," Pecan grumbled. "Or ruined something. Do you not even have paths in this town?"

"There's paths, but just dirt ones," I said. "Dora, your place is just over this way. Let's go."

Dora's house had a traditional Japanese feel, I think, with tatami floors, stone lanterns for lighting, flowering bonsai, and a miniature sand garden in one area. She looked over everything, glad that most of it was there. "I'm missing a blue pot," she said, looking at an empty spot. "But that should be easy to replace. If it was the red pot missing, then that would be a hassle."

"You've got a lovely house," I told her. "It's very calm in here."

She blushed. "Oh, thank you. I've put a lot of work into this design, squeaky."

Pecan just rolled her eyes from the bench she was sitting in.

Then we walked down the ramp and along the river to Pecan's chosen spot. "I haven't really seen in her place, so I'm curious," Dora whispered to me.

Along the way, we crossed paths with Goose, who was running about as usual. "Good evening, ladies!" he called out, waving a wing. "Howdy, I'm Goose, the resident jogger. How're you, buh-kay?"

"Charmed to meet you," Pecan said sarcastically.

"He-hello, squeaky," Dora said, nodding. "I'm Dora, and this is Pecan. She's going to be living down here, just ahead by the lake."

Goose grinned. "Excellent! I'd be your nearest neighbor then, miss squirrel, unless you discount the cliff. I live on this side of the river by the beach, so drop by any time you need something."

She glared at him. "I'm a chipmunk, not a squirrel. Don't get it mixed up again. The tail is a fashion statement."

"Eh, all right," he said. "Well, see you all around!" He headed off again.

"He seemed nice, actually," Dora said shyly.

"Some people can be annoyingly nice," Pecan retorted, which ended that conversation.

When we got to the site, Pecan shrugged, so I guess she found nothing to complain about. She turned her key in the lock and brought up her house. Even from the outside, it was fancier than others I'd seen, with gingerbread trim and a brick chimney. She let us inside, provided that we scraped the mud off our shoes on the mat outside.

Her house was clearly stylish and rich. The furniture was made with exotic looking materials, from the kind of store that would import everything and claim that quality items like this were made only in a few tiny spots in the world. More noticeably, there was a distinctive blue marking that was on many items, like the rug, the throw pillows of the couch, and on the tablecloth. That was the particular sign of the Gracie brand, as I had only seen it at her store.

Dora looked around in awe. "Oh wow, you've managed to get an entire Gracie set? How did you get enough money to cover it all?"

Pecan waved a paw as she check on everything. "Intelligent dealings, girl, especially with the stalk market. You have to be savvy in order to be stylish and uncheated." She paused in front of a painting on her wall. "Hmm? I don't recall this being here before."

"Maybe it belonged to one of the others," Dora suggested.

"It looks like a Salvador Dali painting," I said. "The melting clocks were something he was known for, back in the mortal world."

"Is that so?" The purple chipmunk looked at it, then shrugged. "It fits in all right, so I'll leave it until we figure out who it belongs to properly."

"I've got a chicken fish casserole put together back at my house," I told them. "You may come over for dinner if you like, and we could even invite a few other villagers over for you to meet."

"That sounds good," Dora said, twitching her ears. "I hope the people here like me."

"I suppose it would be polite to come over at least once," Pecan said, looking through her dresser. "I want to clean up a bit, so I'll be over… when about?"

"Six would be fine," I told her.

I got Puddles, Rodeo, and Goose to come over to share in our dinner. Dora seemed to be fitting in fine, even with how jumpy she was. On the other hand, Pecan seemed to be purposely cultivating an aloof image, and was the first to leave. But I did have to keep an eye on both of them and support them, so I hoped that she would open up to me soon.

* * *

_My main source of knowing about Kicks comes from the great fic Her Crystal Ball by Matron of Madness, which influenced me to introduce him and Redd in the same chapter, heh. And on Redd chewing bubble gum, my original idea on that scene was to have him smoking; he seems like the kind of person that would smoke. However, cigarettes just don't fit in with this setting (and I don't like them because they make me sneeze horribly at a whiff of the smoke). So I went with the best equivalent 'bad habit', talking while chewing gum._

_Chicken fish casserole may sound weird, but remember that all meat in this realm is either fish or bugs._

_Pierre/Sweetvale and Muller/Cliff Town are original to this story. The latter is inspired by a triple-level town I had on the Gamecube, while the former is inspired by photos of City Folk towns on the AXA forums._

_On a random note on my WW game, I did have Bright Nights just last week. I agree, I like how I did it here better. Although I voted for Pudge twice, the winner was Antonio, who moved in on Wednesday of the festival! Weird. Oh, and Dora randomly moved in while I was writing this chapter…_


	19. The Arctic Lion

**Chapter 19: The Arctic Lion**

Thursday, February 26

I had recruited Pecan, Dora, and Rodeo to help me improve the environment, the first two because I wanted to get them involved in something, the last because it would be unfair to leave him out of it. Pecan initially wasn't thrilled, but after a day or two, the chipmunk came up to me with a few articles on calculating how many trees should go where. She was more in favor of the lightest calculation, in order to make a town urban and organized.

However, I rather liked the idea of a town focused on nature. The heaviest calculation, though, called for around eighteen trees per acre, with twenty in some. In the northern part of town, there was one acre that had twenty-five trees in it, and others were in the eighteen to twenty range. That made things crowded, especially around Rodeo's rose gardens. I agreed with Pecan that it had to be cleared up there. But not too much. We left around sixteen to eighteen trees per acre in the upper part of town, and parts of the lower. Then we planned on a thinner concentration for the rest of town.

Of course, Rodeo wanted to plan gardens. Dora was willing to help him and the three of us would discuss what flowers should go where. There weren't the funds in the town development fund to buy more exotic plants, so we were seemingly stuck with what was available through Nook. However, Rodeo found a way to take a clipping from his climbing rose to start a new plant near the train station; he agreed to make sure that it took hold and grew strong there. And Dora found two coconuts washed up on the beach one morning. She told me that we could get palm trees to grow from them if they were planted near the beach, so we tried that out.

Thursday was a particularly long day as our large order of flower seeds came in and the four of us were out all day arranging and planting them. We made small starting gardens for each of the public buildings and stores in town. Some tulips by the museum, some cosmos by the town hall, and peonies by the shops. While looking over the lake, Rodeo mentioned one town having water lilies and cattails, which sounded like a nice addition. That is, once we figured out where to get those plants.

Late in the evening, I checked in on Dora and Pecan as usual, then went to speak with Goose for a while about his running trails. I wanted to make sure that the new trees I was planting weren't getting in his way. On my way back home, I spotted Blathers and Celeste out by the lake. "Hello," I called out to them, crossing the bridge over to their side. "Nice night, isn't it?"

Celeste put down her small telescope and waved to me. "Oh, hello Nadia! Yes, it's a perfect night for stargazing. We're out looking for a good place to watch meteor showers; I missed the last set because it had been cloudy and snowing."

"Hoo yes, this would be a nice place," Blathers said as I got by them. "This or the beach; the higher part of town has so many trees, including Yggdrasil."

I chuckled. "Sorry, but I'm looking to have a nice wooded town in time. But the beach should remain clear."

"That's all right," she said. "A woodsy place has a nice feeling, and a too barren town can get so windy and extreme in temperatures. And I noticed that you have palm trees growing now. That's great!"

Blathers put a wing over his beak. "I suppose palm trees are nice," he said reluctantly. "But did you know that they tend to attract the largest beetles in Animal Crossing? The large ones are especially disgusting because you can see their features so much better. Ugh." He shuddered.

She giggled. "But then, you don't have to look so closely at them to properly identify them, right? So you don't have to spend much time doing so."

"I guess there is that…" he admitted.

At that point, something wet and cold hit me on the shoulder. I was surprised to find it to be a soggy snowball. The snow was all gone and we weren't supposed to get any more. Over by a tree, I saw Loki standing there with a smirk on his face and another snowball in hand. "Miss winter yet?" he said in a teasing voice. "I meant to visit sooner, but oh how time passes."

I was quickly concerned about Blathers, due to his issues with bugs. It couldn't be pleasant for him to meet a green mantis person, especially if he didn't know that those sharp looking blade arms were useless. For a moment, the brown owl whimpered some weak statement of disbelief, then passed out. "Brother!" Celeste cried out, kneeling down by him.

Loki snickered.

"You're not welcome here," I said. I didn't know if it would work, but I felt angered at him. He'd probably chosen this moment to appear in order to torment Blathers.

"I'm usually not welcome anywhere organized," he replied, spinning the snowball in his hand. "Doesn't stop me."

Although I didn't think I'd get an answer, I decided to try asking him something. "What happened to Pierre?"

"Why should you concern yourself about that?" he asked back. "You're a bland person, using polite mannerisms to cover up a lack of anything interesting. In my seeking, I found an anchor who was too prideful in shallow things. Still an unfortunately good soul, but with this bad fault. I gave him a puzzle to solve, but forgot to mention that what he perceived as an hour was really a few days. He doesn't yet realize what has happened. I do have to check in on his progress, though I doubt he has finished." He tossed the snowball up, but neglected to catch it. "Beware the arctic lion." Then he vanished, leaving the snowball to splatter against the ground.

Celeste looked up to me, worried. "Was that Loki?"

I nodded. "Yeah. Is he going to be all right?" I knelt by Blathers.

"Mostly," she said. "We should wait until he wakes up, then go back to the museum. He'll probably have nightmares about it for weeks, though." She sighed. "Though I dread to think of what'll happen when actual mantises come into season."

I waited with her, then helped Blathers back to the museum. Although he muttered, "That was not natural," he was mostly quiet and jittery on the walk back, particularly when a mole cricket called out from underground. I suggested that he could get something down at the Roost to calm his nerves. Just not the coffee.

After that, I went by the town hall to speak with Tortimer. I hadn't learned much from Loki, but the information that Pierre was involved in some kind of puzzle might help Rover and the others find him. Also, I had a feeling that the chaos mantis had done something else in town. I wasn't sure what.

* * *

Saturday, February 28

Friday had been a rather miserable day. It had started off with a misty rain, but still warm. Around four pm, the air had turned sharply colder and the rain got heavier. By the time night fell, the rain had turned to a slushy sleet. I had been quite cold by the time I got back home. It had convinced everyone to not let go of their winter things just yet.

Which was good, because on Saturday it was snowing. Not only that, but it was starting to stick to the ground again. There was just an inch or two, but it was still enough to turn everything white once more. "This is so weird," Dora said, adjusting her new earmuffs. "I don't think I've ever seen it snow this late in February."

"Oh, you know the old saying," Puddles said (she decided to involve herself in the environment improvement on Friday, although we were all rethinking doing work that Saturday). "March will come in like a lion or a lamb. I guess it's a lion this year."

"An arctic lion?" I asked, although it was worrying me. Would Verdant get a terrible ice and snow storm like we had earlier this month?

"Yeah, like that," Puddles said, nodding.

By the time of our weekly party, it was snowing hard, almost enough to make a whiteout. Fewer people than usual came, and it wasn't as cheerful as usual. "This storm seems too much like a bad omen," Fang commented. "The way it blows under my fur, it doesn't seem natural."

A crash of thunder came from outside, causing Dora and Bob to jump.

"There's that too," the white wolf said.

"I think we'd better end this one early," I suggested. "It's only going to get harder to get around as it gets darker. Be careful, all of you."

Although there was some disappointment, everyone agreed to go home to wait out the unexpected blizzard. I took Dora home with me, while Goose followed Pecan back to her place; she resisted having anyone walk with her, but I wanted to make sure that she would be all right. The air was cold and stinging, while the snowflakes were small, almost hard. Lightning caused bright flashes in the white, while thunder could be felt in our bones. I had to agree with Fang that this storm felt unnatural. Maybe Loki had caused it.

The white mouse clutched my hand as we stopped by her house. "This is an awful lot like the mists were," she told me. "All white except right around you. Although it wasn't this noisy."

I nodded. "Right, I remember it being that way too." Seeing that she was reluctant to let go of me, I added, "Do you want to say over at my house tonight?"

"Um, sure, thanks," she said, a bit embarrassed. "This storm is weird, and scary. I didn't really want to be alone tonight. I need to get my medicines, though."

"Go ahead."

I hadn't yet been able to expand, so I just had her sleep in my bedroom too. After some searching, I found a hammock and some extra blankets. We talked for a little while, but the tea made her too sleepy to stay up. I tried to look out the window, but it was coated in frost crystals. If it was just the blizzard, then we'd just have to wait out Loki's magic.

* * *

Sunday, March 1

The electricity went out about seven in the morning.

It was still snowing outside, although not as harsh. As the clouds made it dark, I had a lamp on while Dora and I ate breakfast. My television had been on too, showing a news program. Both of them went out at the same moment, along with the background hum of the furnace. Of course, I had never seen the heating unit myself, but now that its noise was gone, I definitely noticed it. There was still a warm red glow coming off my fireplace, oddly enough.

"Oh dear," Dora said, shivering in fright. "This can't be good."

"Right," I said. I got up from the table. "Excuse me, I need to get something."

I went back to my bedroom and brought back my anchor's manual. On checking the section on services like power, I found that a town's generator would be at the town hall. So if I wanted to find out anything, that would be the place to do it. I pulled my heaviest winter clothes, wishing that I had boots or snowshoes to get around with.

"You're going out in this?" Dora asked me.

"Yeah, I need to see what's going on."

"Ah. I'll go back over to my place then. Thanks for having me over. But, uh…"

"Don't worry about it," I said, smiling. "I won't tell anybody you were over here if you don't want me to."

She smiled back in relief. "Oh good, that's great." She went over to get her ear muffs, scarf, and gloves.

When I tried to open the door, I had trouble pushing it out. It took a minute, but I finally got it shoved open. Outside, there was two feet of snow on the ground. Dora and I had to squeeze out, then shovel more snow out of the way. My gyroid was still, perhaps hooked into the electricity. I helped Dora clear out snow from her door, then left her there to head out to the town hall.

I encountered Copper on my way there. "Morning, Nadia," he called. "We have a number of problems going on. Not only is the electricity out, but the train tracks have frozen over. We won't be able to get out of town and people won't be able to get in with that there."

"That can't be good," I said. "Can you get the tracks cleared? Some people might be able to help."

"I planned on seeing what could be done. Where are you off to?"

I shivered a bit at some wind. Even though I had warm gear on, I could still feel the cold in my body. "Town hall; I want to check about the generator."

"Ah." He saluted me. "Well be careful going around town. I'll talk with you later." He hurried off to the train tracks while I went down the ramp.

It was only snowing lightly now, so I soon saw Pete trying to clear the way into town hall. "Howdy, Nadia," he said to me. "The mail might be a touch late this morning. That is, if anyone else can get outside to get their mail."

"Yeah, it was tough." I went inside, careful to not have the door open too long.

I found Phyllis and Pelly in the main room, talking with Helen. "Oh, good morning Nadia," Pelly said.

"It's not good at all," Phyllis grumbled. "There isn't supposed to be snow in March."

"Hi everyone," I said. "I came to check on the generator. Is Tortimer looking into it?"

"Yeah, he's downstairs," Pelly said, coming over to let me behind the counter. "Be careful; those stairs are tricky in the dark."

"And make sure the old guy gets up here without breaking his shell," her sister added.

"I hope the electricity isn't off too long," Helen said, sounding nervous.

In back, there were two staircases. I went down into the hall's basement, bringing out my camping lantern to see the narrow stairs by. Tortimer was by a large piece of machinery, holding onto a brass lantern. After seeing who I was, he nodded. "Ah, good to see you, sprout," he said. "We've got big trouble. Take a look at this."

By the two lights, I saw that the generator itself had been frozen over. Icicles hung off bars and wires, while solid chunks encased parts that should have been moving. A light dusting of snow was on the ground and our breath came out as puffs of mist. "How could a generator freeze like this?" I asked. "I wouldn't think it would be that cold in this room while it's running."

"It isn't." He rubbed his chin. "Do you happen to have an axe on you? Or a shovel?"

"I've got my shovel, but not an axe," I said. "Why?"

"Try breaking up some of this ice. I'm afraid that my arthritis won't let me get up the strength to do that."

I nodded, taking out my shovel. "All right." I then studied the machine.

I didn't want to accidentally break something in breaking the ice. But which parts were the important ones? Deciding just to take the chance, I brought the shovel up and struck it against an ice block. There was an echoing clang, but no visible effect on the ice. I gave it a harder shot only to here a crash and clatter. But not of the ice; my shovel had broke.

"Ouch," Tortimer said. "Sorry about that." He came over and touched the ice. "Not a crack or chip out of this, though. It has to be a part of this storm's magic, caused by that Loki fellow."

"Right," I said, watching my shovel dissolve into nothing now that it was useless. "Copper says that the train tracks are frozen too, so it might be ice like this."

The old tortoise shook his head, sighing. "In that case, I'll have to send out a call for assistance. I'm afraid that Pete doesn't have his license to fly through the mists yet. We can't even call Ross because that relies on electricity. Mind helping an old tortoise upstairs? I think this snow is spreading."

"Not at all," I said, taking his free hand and going up with him.

Back upstairs, Tortimer called the four other workers over. "The power's off for the whole town until we can get outside help," he said. "That could take a while, but in this cold weather, all the buildings are going to get frigid before long. Anybody have any ideas?"

"Can you melt the ice on the generator?" Phyllis asked. "That could work faster." She mumbled something about not having to bother with the issue further after that.

"Already tried," Tortimer said. "My bonfire still works, but there's not much room in here."

"Why don't you gather people in the museum?" Pete suggested. "It's big enough to hold everyone in town and if your bonfire works, then we can keep one room warm at least."

"My fireplace is still working too," I said. "That could give us some extra space, especially if we ask others if they have other fire items that still work."

Tortimer nodded. "Yes, yes, and we might be able to arrange things with Brewster to get food sent there if we're there long. Okay, can you four get word out to the others?" He looked to me and the three pelicans. "I can't move fast enough, even without the snow, and Miss Helen here shouldn't be out in the cold too long."

We agreed to that, with Phyllis saying that she would see Tortimer and Helen to the museum. Pelly and Pete could each get a shovel, so I said I'd drop by the main store to see about buying a new one to clear out the doors to other people's houses.

After the short walk over, I found Tom shoveling snow away from his sliding door. "Phew, this storm has been a monster," he said. "How much more do you think we'll get?"

"I have no idea," I said. "Do you happen to have a shovel to sell? Mine broke."

"Oh yes, I do. Come on in. The lights are out, but I can still make a sale." He tossed off a last bit of snow, then went inside.

I followed him. "That's another reason I came," I said. "I broke my shovel trying to get ice off the town's power generator. That's why the power's out; it got frozen near solid. We're all gathering in the museum to keep warm until outside help comes."

"Oh, that's trouble," Tom said. "If that's the case, then I'll have to shut the shop down. Here's the shovel; it's five hundred bells."

After paying for it, I looked around the store. I could feel some residual warmth on my skin, but I still felt oddly cold. I hoped I wasn't getting sick, but that made me think of something. "Hey, I know it may be a bit of trouble, but could you bring over some medicines in case someone gets sick? We don't know how long this emergency situation will last."

He looked uncomfortable with bringing out free medicines. "Well… it is an emergency. I can write up an exemption if it lasts for longer than a day. All right. I get them in boxed shipments, so there's plenty if the need is there. And I've got a black stove downstairs that's mine, if you need extra heat sources."

"That would be great, thank you." I took the shovel. "Well I have to go warn others, so be careful on your way over."

"I will, once I get things gathered."

I went back to my house to get my fireplace, then to get Dora over to the museum. When we arrived, Blathers had Rodeo and Goose helping him to get one of the large double doors shut. In the main room, Tortimer had set up his bonfire and others were talking. The mayor had me put my fireplace in the photo gallery.

Pelly got my attention as I came back into the lobby. "Nadia, could you go speak with Pecan? I tried to tell her about what was going on and she wouldn't listen. I think she was a bit confused too, but I wasn't sure. You know her better than I do."

"Okay, I'll check on her." I glanced around the room. "Who else do we need to get? Tom is bringing over some medicines and a stove."

"I think we've got everyone. Pete left to speak with Copper and Booker again, and Sable and Mabel are gathering blankets they've been making. Anyone else had said that they're coming. I was going to fly out with Phyllis to watch them and make sure no one got stuck."

"Okay, that's good. I'll go get Pecan then."

The snow was getting thicker again as I crossed over the bridge and walked along the river. At Pecan's house, I noticed that the snow wasn't fully cleared from the doorstop. I shoveled some more out of the way, then knocked. Peering in the door's window, I saw a candle that was on. But it was dark, so I couldn't tell if she was in there.

Knocking louder, I called, "Pecan? I'm coming inside." As her gyroid was still, I couldn't ask it about her. So I went in.

The house was lit thanks to the candle, although it now made shadows flicker eerily throughout the room. Pecan herself was sitting by the strange Dali painting, looking into it. By the candle's light, it appeared even stranger than when I'd first seen it. It was like one of those trick images, where you saw one thing at one angle, but then something else at another. It was the melting clock at one viewing, but then… something else I couldn't quite figure out. It was more abstract.

And Pecan was looking at it, mumbling to herself. "That wasn't there…"

To distract her, I nudged her shoulder. "Hey, Pecan."

She jumped around in her chair. "Oh, N-Nadia," she said. "When did you come in? I…" she looked at her regular lamp, which was out. "Huh? Something seems weird."

"The town's power went out," I told her. "There's also two feet of snow out on the ground now. We're gathering in the museum to keep warm. And I think you need your medicine."

"Yeah, sure," she said, hopping out of her chair. "That painting is so weird; I kind of lost track of time, I guess." She went into her kitchen to get her things.

"If it's doing things to your mind, you might want to put it up for now," I suggested.

"It can't be anything dangerous," she dismissed with a flick of her tail. "I'd know better than to mess with something like that."

We got back to the museum; as we were the last to arrive, the guys shut the other door and secured it tightly. The bonfire took up much of the lobby, but did well in keeping it and rooms nearby warm. Downstairs, Tom's cast iron stove kept an eating area warm. My fireplace warmed up the photo gallery, while another one warmed up one of the fossil rooms. So we had plenty of space to spread out.

* * *

The blizzard picked back up in the afternoon and help still hadn't arrived. Fang and Monique had been irritable at having been woken up due to the power outage, while Pecan was out of it enough that I insisted she take a nap. With this problem (as well as the night shift workers), Tortimer suggested that the girls rest in the photo gallery, while the guys rest in the fossil room. It seemed reasonable; Goose, Puddles, Fang, and I had gone back out for some furniture, like screens to further block off the sleeping areas and places to sit or sleep.

"Are you doing all right, Fang?" I asked when he was more awake. "I know I've been busy with the girls the past few days."

He smiled a little. "Oh I'm fine. Thanks for thinking of me, though. You've been a good friend through all this."

I smiled back. "I do what I can."

Scratching his head, the wolf said, "I've actually been considering what I want to do now. I had a really tight group of friends there for a while, and now three of them are gone."

"Three?" I asked. I knew about Pike and the swan Nadia, but I hadn't heard of a fourth to their group.

It seemed to be a fond memory though. "Yeah, I had one friend who was practically with me from the start. He was able to move on to heaven too. I really should be figuring out what's holding me back and do something about it. But I'm not sure what that is, and my next review trial isn't for several months. So I don't really have a goal right now."

To our surprise, Puddles grabbed onto the arm of the chair he was in and leaned up. "You can catch bugs like me, splish!"

"Waah!" Fang was so startled that he nearly fell out of the chair. This caused some snickers around the room, especially from Puddles. With his ears tilting back, he asked, "What was that for, cha-chomp? You shouldn't be interrupting a conversation like that."

She kept giggling. "Well we're all kind of stuck here," she said teasingly. "So of course people are going to overhear you. And if you don't know what to do, then do something fun, like catching bugs. I'm going to make sure to fill up this museum's bug wing quickly."

I partly covered up a smile to that. "It's a good thing Blathers isn't here to hear that," I commented.

"You can't just think about having fun," Fang pointed out. "You have to improve yourself constantly around here."

The pink frog just kept smiling. "Aw, don't be such a serious stick in the mud. It's not much good focusing only on self-improvement if it doesn't make you happy. Especially since being happy is an improvement too. What do you enjoy doing, hmm?" At least she seemed genuinely interested.

He seemed reluctant to say anything, so I encouraged him a bit. "It wouldn't do much harm to consider that too. What do you like to do, Fang?"

"Well… I do like fishing."

"That's kind of like bug catching," Puddles said. "How far along are you on your collection book of fish?"

"I don't have a collection book," he admitted.

"Well then get one! That's a fine goal too, at least until you think of something more important."

"She has a good point," I said.

"Hmm, maybe," he said, reluctant to agree with her right there.

Puddles then let go of his chair and came over to me. "Hey Nadia, you doing okay? You seem kind of pale."

I brushed my hand over my forehead. "I'm okay," I said. "I still feel a bit cold."

"Maybe you ought to go closer by the bonfire," Fang suggested.

"Maybe."

* * *

Monday, March 2

It was a day after the power had gone out, and close to two since the storm had started. It showed no signs of letting up; through the windows, we could see the snow was up to four feet. Although it had stopped falling, winds were blowing now that pushed it around and made drifts that were even deeper. Still, no help had come.

Goose, Copper, and Booker had all fallen ill, so it was a good thing that I had convinced Tom to bring the medicines. We brought up some board games from downstairs to pass the time, as well as talked and told stories. At some points, it was even a bit fun and nice. But we were still trapped by this sudden last minute attack of winter.

And for some reason, I was feeling cold. Several of my neighbors had adjusted their clothes due to the fires' heat. I still wore a sweater and felt chilled. So when I started sweating badly, I wondered if I wasn't sick too. I asked Celeste if I could go into their living quarters and borrow their shower; she agreed readily. That was when I noticed something worrisome.

After I got redressed from showering, I went back to the lobby and found Tortimer. He was speaking with several others, but I figured they might as well know. "Tortimer, remember how I told you about me, Blathers, and Celeste meeting up with Loki a few days ago and how he hit me with a snowball? I've got frost patterns on my skin now." I rubbed the one shoulder he had struck. "Especially right where it hit."

And he confirmed how much of a problem this was by turning serious. "Is there, now? That tells us how the snow came, but makes it more troublesome to get the storm to stop."

"How's that?" Bob asked.

"He's taking advantage of the connection between an anchor and her town," the mayor explained as I sat down with the group. "Just as when she was saddened by her loss, the thorny rafflesia came. He could have put some kind of cold curse on you, Nadia, or the town." He paused. "Or both to make things worse. I can try to do something about it, but if it's an unfamiliar curse, we'd definitely need outside help."

"Didn't you call for that help yesterday morning?" Pelly asked.

"I tried to, but that was after the power went out," Tortimer replied. "I've been in prayer several times as well; usually Lesliel will get a message sent that way. We may have to try as a group. It would be better if someone could get through the mists to a nearby town, especially since trains can't come through. The engineers should notice that, but still…"

Nearby, Pete seemed embarrassed. "Well, I haven't taken that class yet, so I can't travel in the mists myself…"

"Well that's usually not necessary for a town mailman," Pelly said, patting his wing and trying to encourage him.

"Do you know how to get through them, though?" Bob asked. "I mean, couldn't you follow the railroad tracks?"

"The tracks?" Pete asked.

The purple cat nodded. "Yeah, because the tracks are always there despite being in the mists constantly. They must have some kind of magic to keep stable and if you followed them long enough, then surely you'd come to another town."

"The mists can obscure them in the air," the mailman said. "Besides, uh, I'm not too fast on land, if you haven't noticed."

"I would send one of the cops, but they're both ill," Tortimer said.

There was an awkward silence as everyone wondered what we could do. Then Bob stood up. "Well then, how about I go follow the tracks out of town?"

Monique looked shocked. "Bob? Are you sure about that? I mean, there's monsters out there… and you might get hit by a train."

"I think they might notice somebody on the tracks," he said. "And somebody has to do something, especially if this is all because Nadia's sick or cursed or something. So yeah, I'm sure."

"There's things out in the mists that will be out to destroy you," Tortimer said. "And if you do this, then you absolutely have to stay on the tracks. Don't run, as you may lose contact."

His ears twisted back some, betraying some fear that he had. But he nodded. "All right. I'll stay on track." He smiled a bit, trying to make it a joke.

Monique got up then. "Um, Bob, I…"

Taking her hand, he said, "Sorry I gotta leave."

She shook her head. "No… I'm going with you."

At that, he seemed to get really scared. "Monique, I don't know about that. I don't want you to get hurt. It's going to be really scary out there."

She turned her ears down. "I know. But, that's why I don't want you going out there alone. I don't want you to have to face the monsters of the mists by yourself."

To our surprise, Tortimer laughed at that. "Oh, ho ho, so that's how it is." He nodded. "That would be a better idea, sprouts. If you're going to face the unknown, it's better to do it with someone you love and trust. All right, but one thing before you go. Go speak to Copper and Booker; hopefully at least one of them is awake. You'll need their hats, which will help to protect you from the trickery of the mists. If you have them, the train tracks, and each other, then I feel confident that you can make your way to the next town over. Just don't get careless out there."

Bob seemed reluctant a bit longer, then smiled at Monique. "Okay, then we'll do that. I'm gonna see the cops about those hats." He went over to the fossil room to speak with them.

The blond cat came over and hugged me. "I'm sorry about leaving when you're not well, but I want to fix things too," she said quietly.

"It's fine, thank you," I said, hugging her back. "Be careful out there; I hope you don't have to be out there for long."

"And you'd better rest for today, just in case. I'll see you later."

* * *

After Bob and Monique left to follow the train tracks, I had gone to rest in the photo gallery. By the time I got up again, I was feeling worse: still cold and sweating, but now I had occasional shaking fits and no appetite. Pelly helped me with drinking broth from chicken-fish soup so that I had something. All the other girls in Verdant were in there for one reason or another.

"Do you think Loki is trying to make this town disappear into the mists too?" Dora said, nervously using a hairbrush on her ears.

"Oh, I hope not," Puddles said. "That would be awful, since it's only been around for a few months."

Pecan was sitting on the floor with her tail wrapped around her legs. "I used to have a policy of never moving into a town less than a year old," she said, then shuddered. "But the mists said that it was vanity to have rules like that. It said I wasn't as good as I thought I was, that I got by with luck more than intelligence."

"Oh, but you are really smart," Dora told her. "You can go into a library and quickly find whatever you're looking for, and the best ways of doing things. I have trouble figuring out what books I want to read…"

"I don't know; I couldn't…" she started sobbing into her knees and tail fur.

"It'll be okay," Celeste said kindly, putting her wing around the chipmunk. "I'm sure we'll get help. Someone will notice they can't contact us, or Bob and Monique will get through, or our prayers will reach Lesliel. We just have to keep our faith."

"That's right," Sable said quietly. "Faith will get you through anything."

"Oh, of course," Mabel said, smiling.

"I got taken by the mists once, on accident," the brown hedgehog said. "It wasn't for very long, but it told me that I would lose a dear friend." She paused. "It did kind of happen, but I didn't lose his friendship entirely."

Dora nodded. "That's right; the monsters do lie. They told me that I didn't belong in Sweetvale. It was kind of true… but they were just trying to scare me. And eat me." She shuddered, but got up. "Um, I think I have to get my tea now. Pecan, I'll get yours too."

"I'll go with you," Puddles said, getting up to follow the mouse. "So you don't have to hold two hot mugs at once."

"Thanks." They left the gallery.

"Pecan, it'll be fine," I said. "So long as I'm here, the town is safe. Even if both of us are sick together. I'm not going to let the snow fully take over."

She tried to curl up tighter. "I'm sorry," she said, muffled by speaking into her knees. "I should be more sophisticated…"

"Don't worry about it," Pelly said. "We're all in this together, so we all understand."

"Hmph," Phyllis said from where she was leaning against the wall. "My sis might be too nice about it, but she does have a point. It's not easy to stay in peak shape when you're made to lodge with everyone else in one building for over thirty hours."

"That's a funny way to put it," Mabel said.

"It'll be another story to tell in the future," I added.

* * *

_Well, this story is now the only AC story on this site that's over a hundred thousand words. Technically, my file says it's off by a few hundred, so it's probably these little notes that nudged it over last update. I think there's still plenty to do with the story. Though I feel I should go offer an encouragement/review to my nearest length competitor for fun._

_I've been waiting for the arctic lion part for quite some time, just had to time it right... and wouldn't you know it? Winter in real life is being stubborn about giving up on snow as well. But poor Blathers, meeting with mantis Loki...  
_


	20. Railroad Tracks

**Chapter 19: Railroad Tracks**

Tuesday, March 3

I had slept through most of the day, dreaming of a lot of snow. The blizzard threatened to swallow me up, but my neighbors managed to wake me up before I completely lost myself to dreams. While I was always cold, I only took one blanket. Any more would make me sweat and still be cold.

It was around evening when Puddles woke me up, mostly by repeatedly poking me in the shoulder and chest. "Hey, hey, splish! Wake up, sweetie!"

"Hmmm?" I replied, opening my eyes. I didn't feel like getting up then, as I felt achy all over. "What is it?"

Ignoring my sleepy attitude, she hopped in place. "Bob and Monique came back! And they brought Lesliel with them. They're in the other room right now, talking with Tortimer."

"That's good." I felt myself trying to fall back asleep, so I focused on the chill in my chest to stay up a bit longer. "Are they all right?"

She nodded. "Oh sure, they don't show any signs of mist illness." Then she laughed. "But they look so funny in those green guardian caps! It so does not match Bob's fur and looks just wrong on Monique. But I guess if it saved them, it's okay."

A moment later, Monique and Lesliel came into the gallery. Surprisingly, the angel was the sort of dog that one couldn't tell what breed she was by her looks. She had a lean muscular build, with black, brown, and white fur. Her snout was pointed, but her ears were rounded and triangular. Like Jainiel, she had angelic white wings and black eyes that seemed both ancient and fresh.

"This is Nadia," Monique said. While she wasn't wearing the cap anymore, her blond hair did seem pressed close to her head, more so than usual. "Oh, you're up. That's great; this is the angel Lesliel."

The dog angel smiled warmly and took a seat by my bed. "Hello, Nadia. I had hoped we could meet under better circumstances, but I'm here to help. I should have gotten here sooner, but while I knew there was trouble, I wasn't sure where it was." She pulled down my blanket and passed her hand over me, seemingly checking on me.

"We were trying to reach you through prayer," Puddles said. "We tried really hard."

"There was some kind of barrier around the town," Monique explained. "And with a false notice that Verdant wasn't accepting visitors or new residents for the time being, nobody could reach us. She had to use some kind of spell or something to make sure the train we were on could reach the town, and not just because of the ice on the tracks."

"This is supposed to be a closed off realm," Lesliel added. "It was understood that we wouldn't have to deal with a spirit of the kind of power Loki has. I'm afraid that we never made plans in case one got in." For a moment, I saw a frown on her face. But it slipped away quickly. "I can fix this, but… I'm sorry, but would you girls leave the room and close the door for me? This is going to take some power and you don't want to get caught in the wake of it."

"Sure, if it helps Nadia," Puddles said.

Monique seemed reluctant, but nodded. "Okay." She smiled to me, strangely seeming sad about it. "We should probably talk later anyhow, as you're not awake enough." They, Sable, and Phyllis left the room, leaving it just me and the angel when the door was shut.

Lesliel dropped her hands in her lap and sighed. "I can fix it," she repeated. "But I've never had to undo a curse like this before. I want to speak with my contacts in Heaven before I do anything more so it doesn't go wrong, and that's what I have to be careful about who witnesses." She got up and patted my forehead. "Close your eyes, but try to stay awake. If you look at the wrong time, you might get blinded."

"I think the harder part will be not going to sleep," I told her. I closed my eyes and tried to keep thinking so I didn't.

What I heard and felt then was strange. She had walked a few steps away, then drew on some immense power connecting her to somewhere else. Then she and another started speaking, but not in English, and not with any sounds I could recognize as normal speech. It might have been worrisome, but there was such a powerful presence of life and love from both Lesliel and her contact that I felt certain that things would be all right.

Then she touched my chest again and started her work at undoing the curse. The cold areas in my body seemed to condense down, forming into something like snow crystals. Those crystals were then removed from my body, as well as the town by the link we shared. For a moment, I didn't feel warm, although I didn't feel cold either. Lesliel finished off by tracing a symbol over my forehead, like a spiral sunburst. A few non-words later and the angelic link dissipated.

"Okay, it's safe to look now," the dog angel said cheerfully. When I did, she was sitting back in the chair. "You should stay here and rest for the next day. You can go back home tomorrow evening, but don't do anything strenuous for the next week. And, I tweaked your town's weather some so all the snow will melt and spring will get back on track. It'll be warmer than usual, maybe stormy. But not dangerously so." She chuckled.

"Of course not," I said, relieved that winter would surely be through now.

* * *

Thursday, March 5

Monique had insisted on taking care of me and I wasn't going to argue about it. She stayed over the night of the fourth, and was there in the morning to make me breakfast. But she wasn't speaking much; rather, she was thinking a lot as if considering something.

So I had to ask, "What's on your mind, Monique?"

She twitched her ears and off-handedly said, "Oh, a lot, pffffft." She tapped a spoon against her bowl, then said, "Actually, I'm going to be moving sometime soon."

I felt a pang of concern at that. It was the most unexpected move I'd had so far. "You are?"

"I, I don't mean to get you upset," she said hurriedly. "It's just, I feel like I should and… it has to do with some things Bob and I talked about while we were in the mists."

A part of me didn't want her to leave. She was my oldest friend here, after all, the one who had come into Animal Crossing with me. But that was very selfish of me and I felt bad about feeling that way. "It should be your choice," I said. "I will miss you a lot if you go. But, we can always write to each other."

"Oh, of course," she said, smiling a bit. "Actually, Bob's supposed to be going out to Chime City today, to look for a town. He's moving with me, and says that he wants to take me to a place at around the same time, so that I don't miss spring."

They were both moving. Although that didn't surprise me as much. I would have been more surprised if he decided to stay here if she was leaving. "That's good. What did happen out in the mists? If you don't mind telling me."

"It's fine," Monique said. "I was going to tell you anyhow."

* * *

Monday, March 2

The tunnel was closed off by large icicles, but the two cats were able to break one and squeeze through. Once through the dark tunnel, they came out to a foggy forest, or so it seemed. The tracks continued without break in front of them, so they walked over the path, holding paws. It was surprisingly windy, with gusts rattling the trees and making eerie sounds.

Sometimes it even sounded like voices. "I don't think the wind is supposed to talk to you," she said. She couldn't quite make out what it was saying.

"That must be the voices people say they hear out here," Bob replied. "They try to get you to give up so the mists can consume you." He patted the green cap on his head. "Maybe these things block out what they're saying. I can't hear them very well."

"That's good," she said. "It does kind of shove my ears down, though."

"Yeah, that feels so weird." He grinned. "We could be louder then the voices so they really can't make us listen."

She looked out to the trees, which seemed ominous in this mist, like they could hide anything in their branches. "I don't know about that. It might get the attention of other things out here."

"Oh, right."

They did talk quietly to each other, which took some of the edge off the strange surroundings. As they went on, they began to lose a sense of time as the scenery didn't change. Sometimes there were strange sounds in the distance: screams, tumbling rocks, wails, or just the mysterious snap of a twig. But it all blurred together into a sense of timelessness.

That is, until the tracks themselves changed. A wood and iron structure appeared above their heads, as well as extra supports on the rails. "Is that a bridge?" Bob asked.

"That would make sense," she said. "But what's it going over?"

"I suppose we'll find out."

Whatever it was, they still couldn't see it when they were crossing the bridge. The land dropped away abruptly, so there were no more trees. It made it appear as though there was nothing but the mist and the bridge. The wind was still blowing, but there was nothing to block them from it on the open structure. And below their feet, the tracks still had gaps between boards, letting them see down into nothing but white.

And then she thought she heard something from the wind. Not faint muttering like before, but a distinct word in that garble. Pet.

Her hand got jerked as Bob stumbled on the edge of one of the planks. "Bob!"

He was spooked enough that his tail went puffy (and hers probably had too). But he was still there, grabbing onto her hand with both of his to keep on his feet. "I'm okay, I'm okay," he said, sounding nervous. Then he looked to her. "Sorry. Are you okay?"

Nodding, she said, "Yeah. But you gave me quite a scare, after…" she felt nervous about saying it.

"Let's keep going," he said, moving on. "We've got people waiting on us. But, I had been paying attention to the tracks, so that I didn't trip up like that. Seems a dangerous place to do that here." The white swirled beneath them. "I got distracted though, cause I heard the word klutz on the wind."

"Oh, you did?" So it wasn't just her.

"Yeah," he said, sounding oddly sad. "Hey, you don't... think I'm bad for your image, do you? Some girls have told me that."

She put her other paw to her chin. "Well I'm not even sure what my image should be sometimes. I'm still learning things. Plus, I don't think you're as klutzy as you think you are."

"I'm not sure about that."

"I've only seen you trip up three times," she pointed out. "Including just now."

He shrugged. "I guess that's true.

Might as well share what she had heard. "And it said something to me too at that moment. It called me a pet."

Bob looked over at her. "Oh really?"

"That is one of the harder things to shake off," she explained. "I mean, I love Nadia as my friend and all, and we've always been friends. It's just different now that I can talk and think more like her. Sometimes I think I should keep away from her, but I don't want her to think that I'm avoiding her. I'm just not sure what to do about it."

"Well…" he hesitated, then went on, "You could move away from Verdant. I mean, to find yourself apart from her. You can still keep in touch through letters. And besides, she's really nice, so I'm sure she'll understand."

"I don't know about that. I mean, we're best friends…"

"That doesn't mean you have to stay together all the time," he pointed out. "Especially if it might be causing you confusion in sticking around. I remember this one great line from a great movie; it was something like, if you really love somebody, you have to be willing to let them be free to be themselves… and let yourself free to be yourself."

"That's…" she was about to say that was a sweet thought, but still wasn't sure about it. But at that moment, there was a roar from around them. She jumped towards Bob and the two of them clung to each other as the strongest gust of wind yet blasted the bridge they were on. Even though they were wearing heavy winter clothing, it still got whipped around, along with the flaps of the guardian caps.

And in that moment, the voices of the mist grew stronger and clearer, shouting at them. The gale was trying to throw them off the bridge, into the apparently endless mist. But Bob was right there. Their whiskers touched; while she usually didn't like others touching her whiskers, this touch was reassuring. The voices were against them, but they were with each other.

When the abrupt gale passed, Monique stayed where she was a moment. "That was close," she said softly.

"No kidding," Bob said. Then he blushed and seemed bashful. "Uh, thanks for saving me there."

"Huh?" She felt her own face turn pink at that. "I, I thought you'd saved me by holding on."

"Ah, well…" he looked at her with his green eyes for a moment, then kissed her lightly on the nose.

Although she giggled, she stepped away and pulled him forward. "As nice as that is, we've got to keep moving. People are counting on us."

That made him laugh. "Heh, yeah, that's right. That's okay; I feel like we can handle anything else this mist throws at us! Oh, and if you do move, I'll move with you. I know what I just said; I just want to stay with you."

Monique nodded. "Thanks for the offer, Bob. I'll think on it."

* * *

Thursday, March 5

"It didn't seem so bad after that," Monique told me, smiling. "We found a place where the rails went two different ways, but we could just make out a tunnel at one path. It came out into an autumn town, where the police guards there quickly found us and asked what we were doing on the tracks. It was a town called Lum; the anchor there, Angela, she let us rest in her house while she called in about Verdant's problem. She had a massive house; it was much bigger than this one even.

"And then Lesliel came, with a silver and blue train. I was nervous then, because I wasn't sure what you were supposed to say to an angel, especially one of the ones who runs this whole realm. She turned out to be easy to talk with, though, almost like any other person. I say almost because sometimes, when you look her in the eye or get a strong touch of her halo aura, then you couldn't mistake her for an ordinary person."

"She does seem that way, at least what little I talked with her," I said.

Monique nodded. "Oh right, I think she's still in town. She said she was going to stick around until Copper and Booker were well. They were still sick last I heard, Goose too. But maybe they improved over the night."

I got up, picking up the breakfast dishes as I did. "We can go visit them. I'm not supposed to do anything strenuous, but I've been walking all over this town for months. It shouldn't be harmful to do that."

"Sure thing," she said, helping me out.

When we left the house, my gyroid was dancing in place as usual. "Good morning," she said. "I seem to have been off line for some time, but there are no errors found."

"That's good," I said. "Anything happen yesterday? I wasn't up to leaving the house."

"A new person has moved into Verdant today," she reported. "Conditions are muddy due to the snowpack melting, so be careful not to slip."

"Of course," I said. "Where's the new neighbor?"

"In the spot near the western beach."

"Okay, thanks."

"Isn't that where Pike was?" Monique asked as we walked along the muddy path by Dora's house. The white mouse waved to us from the front window.

I waved back, then said to Monique, "Yeah, that should be the place. There's only so many spaces in town, though, so it's not really a problem."

"Ah. I suppose it would be nice to meet with somebody new… although I'm going to be moving away soon."

"It wouldn't hurt to say hello," I replied.

Checking in on the police station, we found that Copper and Booker were both up doing some paperwork. They told us that Lesliel was still around, but on patrol for them at the moment. At the bottom of the ramp, we found Fang and Rodeo doing some fishing (although the bull's strategy seemed to be sit on a rock, cast the line, then take a nap). Further along, Puddles was lamenting the fact that the butterflies and honeybees weren't out yet, leaving her to seek out the more aggressive tree bees. I knew from meeting them like that meant that the town was getting back to normal already.

We got down to the small beach where Goose lived and knocked on his door. He answered the door wearing a face mask over his beak. "Oh, hey there," he said, his voice and eyes seeming worn down. "I'd invite you in, but I want to get some intense cleaning done to get rid of the germs before anyone visits."

"That's all right," Monique said. "We just wanted to see how you were doing."

"You seem tired," I said.

He rubbed his throat. "Yeah, a nasty combo of a sore throat and cough kept me up all night. The cough's gone, so that's good. You doing all right, Nadia?"

"Well I'm not cold anymore," I said. "I'm not quite up to full energy yet."

He chuckled. "At least the outside cold is gone too, right? I'm sorry to bother you, but would one of you mind picking up some medicine from the store for me? I ran out."

"Sure, I can get that," Monique said.

"Thanks. Once I get that, I think I'll concoct some chamomile tea with warm milk. That ought to put me right to sleep."

"That should do the trick," I said, while Monique snickered a bit. "Sound like you've got it all covered. I hope it doesn't last much longer."

"Yeah, thanks. You get better too." He then waved to us before shutting the door.

After crossing the bridge, Monique decided to go get the medicine for Goose while I went to look for my new neighbor. On my own again, I walked down towards the beach, then along to where the new house was. It looked different than Pike's place, which was good.

The gyroid, oddly enough, was wearing a black handkerchief tied around under its eyes. "Nobody's in," it told me, using the masculine voice. "Good luck finding him, though."

"Oh, well thanks," I said.

It chuckled at me as I left.

Since my gyroid had said the new neighbor had come in today, he had to still be moving his things in. That would make Nook's store the logical place to look. It reminded me that I had planned on paying off my mortgage before the problem with the blizzard interrupted everything. Still, I went ahead and walked towards the store, jut in case I'd run into the new guy.

I heard him first, landing behind me while I was walking. I turned to see what appeared to be a bright pink furred rabbit carrying a black pack from his shoulder. But then, he wore dark clothes over that, like a black zipper shirt and a midnight blue hood that covered over his ears, making him somewhat less noticeable. He smiled at me, one of those that suggested that the smiler knew more than you did. "I meant for you to hear me that time, bunyip," he said slyly.

"Did you?" I asked, wondering what he meant by that. "You're the person who just moved in, right?" When he nodded, I smiled and offered a handshake. "Hi, I'm Nadia, the town anchor. Welcome to Verdant."

He shook hands with me. "Thanks. I'm Snake, the best ninja in the realm. The fact that you haven't heard of me is proof of my skills."

Ah, that explained things. It made me chuckle, though. "I wouldn't have heard about many famous figures anyhow. I've only been around for a little over three months now."

"Ouch, you have a sharp wit to you," he replied, sounding amused. "Don't worry; I don't mean trouble. But I will prove myself to everyone. See ya." He then ran off to his house, presumably to put up furniture.

He was certainly going to be an interesting character, I thought. Then again, so was everyone else around here.

Not too long later, I had paid off my mortgage at the post office and went to the store to speak with Tom. "Great work on getting it paid off in good time," he said. This time, he brought out a catalog and put it on the checkout counter. "Now you have several options for the next upgrade. You can get a basement, which gives you a whole other large room to work with, including the option to move your utility room down there and use that space on the ground floor for something else. Or you can get a second story, which is not quite as large as the basement. However, you can put a second bath up there, or more closets, as well as adding a permanent closet to your attic space. Of course, the extra spaces such as the utility room, the bathrooms, and the closets can be added or removed at any time, for a reasonable fee."

Having a basement with the utility room moved sounded like a nice option. But I felt that Muller's advice, of having a guest bedroom, was the most practical choice. "I'll go with the second story."

Tom nodded, then opened up the catalog. "Good, good. Now you can have up to two options added on, or none if you'd like to save money. At this time, for your second floor, you can have a closet or a bathroom put in. And you can choose to add a closet to your attic space with a second story."

"I'll just go with a closet and a bathroom on the second story."

He then showed me through several design options for the two extra spaces. I matched the guest bath to the one on the main floor, making it a full one. For the closet, I picked one that had a rod for hanging clothes and a number of shelves for storing things. That seemed to make sense with the room's intended use.

Around noon, I got four letters delivered by Ross. One was from Patty and Deena from Seabreeze. News of the freak blizzard seemed to have reached them yesterday, so they sent the letter to ask if everyone was okay. They also wrote about what they were doing lately, taking classes in music and dance. Apparently, they had a strict schedule, right down to having meal plans made out for them. Despite this, they seemed to be in good spirits. I put that letter aside to write back to them.

Another letter was from Muller, for similar reasons. The report he had heard didn't seem complete, so he asked if I could tell him anything more. I figured there wouldn't be any harm in that; it went with the other letter so I could respond.

The second letter was, oddly enough, from Lesliel. But it looked to be a mass mailing of some sort, given that it had gone out from here to Chime City, then back. I went ahead and read it.

To all Anchors:

An unprecedented series of events has occurred throughout our realm which requires immediate attention and several precautions to be taken. Animal Crossing has previously been an isolated realm with only a connection to one of the layers of Heaven for thousands of years. However, a branch to the World Tree Yggdrasil has appeared within the town of Verdant, linking this realm with hundreds of others. A special guardian has already been assigned to watch this branch, especially those that travel along it.

Yet before we even knew it was here, a spirit of chaos had entered. He calls himself Loki, from the Norse mythos of the world of the humans. At this time, we cannot ascertain if this is the true god or merely a chaos spirit imitating him. In this realm, he has been reported to take the form of a green mantis person. Insects do not fall in the cycle of reincarnation that we accept souls from, hence he cannot be mistaken for a true resident.

Loki has already been spotted in several areas of this realm, causing many strange occurrences such as unusual weather, cursed items, or spontaneous changes to landscape items. We have directly connected him to the disappearance of the town of Sweetvale and its anchor Pierre, as well as a catastrophic blizzard in the town of Verdant. Thus, I am making some adjustments to current rules and recommendations.

First of all, a reminder to be cautious if Loki appears in your town. Let your villagers know that if they encounter him, they should report it to the town mayor, yourself, or the police. Do not trust any offers he makes and be aware of any changes that occur.

Second, if you wish to travel outside of your town, know that the train conductors have been told to keep track of your movements and to look into the situation if you have been gone for more than ten hours. And please travel with one of your villagers as an extra precaution.

Lastly, city officials will now be required to monitor access to towns in their district. It may take a day or two to sort out the duties, but if you wish to close off your town to all visitors and new residents, you must send a letter to the appropriate official and explain why. Trains will now run through your town periodically while it is closed off like this to make sure you've not been cut off completely. If you wish only to close out new residents, no notification is needed.

We are working towards resolving this issue. Your cooperation in these matters will help things go smoothly and safely for us all. Thank you for your time.

Sincerely, Lesliel

Perhaps some others would see this as an inconvenience, but I hoped that it would help. I was surprised to read that there was a guardian for Yggdrasil already here. I hadn't noticed any person like that. Then again, watching a connection to other realms probably took a lot of attention.

The fourth letter was from Mitchell, which helped cheer me up.

Dear Nadia,

I had another peculiar dream that you were in trouble, something about snow. I'm not really sure what to do about it. But whatever it is, I hope you're getting through fine. I'm sure that your animal neighbors are helping, even though I don't know them.

We had an unexpected string of cold nights too, also with snow. Some green is starting to show up. I hope all the plants come through okay. Several of the early trees are showing buds already. But I can't wait for winter to be over with. I shouldn't be shoveling in March!

Well, the kids and I are back in our house again. I'm making some progress with the kitchen; so sorry it took so long (and is still taking long…). Surprisingly, Allen has taken up the role of cooking now. He calls up your mother and my sister a lot to ask them questions. He's doing pretty well, like last night's beef stew was wonderful. And he never forgets to add vegetables to the meal, so we're all still eating healthy. I told him that you'd be pleased.

As for Lucia, she's going to be entering a short story contest in her school. She's been working hard at it too, although she's been bouncing around so many ideas that it's hard to say what it will be about. One day it's about a seagull, the next about spaceships. Or maybe a seagull in a spaceship. I said I'd review it for her, so now she just has to write it down.

Life's always a surprise, isn't it?

Love you lots, Mitchell

* * *

Saturday, March 7

Now that the snow was gone, the town was quite muddy again. But at least it was green this time, with new grass starting to poke through and the trees budding well. There were clouds overhead, but the sun was shining bright and warm; we were supposed to get storms later today, possibly due to how drastically the temperature had shifted over the week.

Quite a group of us had gathered at the train station to say goodbye to Monique and Bob. With me were Rodeo, Goose, Fang, and even Puddles and Dora. Lesliel had left the previous day, but she hadn't told anybody when she was going. We weren't about to leave these two to sneak away, though.

"Hey, you two kids have a fun trip," Goose said, smiling. "I hope your next town is great too."

"Oh, it is," Bob said, looking quite happy. "I just haven't told her where we're going yet."

"I wish you would," she replied, but laughed it off. Then she hugged me. "I'm going to miss you, Nadia."

I patted her back. "I'll miss you too, Monique. I hope it works out well for you both."

"I hope it does for you too. We'll be sure to come visit occasionally." She stepped back over to Bob as the train's whistle came from the west, announcing its coming. "Well then, we'll be going."

"The town's not gonna be the same without you two around, chaps," Rodeo said, shaking Bob's hand then. "But here's to a good moving trip."

"Yeah, thanks," he replied. "This is a great place already, aside from the occasional supernatural interests." Bob chuckled. "But the angels should be watching over you guys more closely now."

"Be careful out there, squeaky," Dora said quietly.

"Oh, and you'll have to learn where you're going when you fill out the moving forms," Puddles said in a sneaky (but loud) whisper to Monique. "Make sure to keep your guy in line, all right?"

"Oh, but of course," the blond cat said, grinning.

We all said goodbye to each other as the two cats got on board the train to move to another town. I did feel sad that she was going, but I had to agree with her. It was better for her, maybe the both of us, if we split ways for a while. Besides, friendship didn't end just like that, especially not one that had crossed the boundary of death together. We would always be connected in that way.

* * *

_So Bob and Monique are gone. Bye! This chapter also ends the Winter arc of this story (so I'd better check on my notes for Spring...).  
_

_Lesliel is based on a pet dog of mine, in looks at least. We thought she was part grayhound, but all mutt. She's been gone for several years now, bless her soul. As for Mitchell, I envisioned his letters are replacing the Mom letters from the game. So future letters from him could get a little silly, hehe.  
_


	21. Fickle Luck

**Chapter 21: Fickle Luck**

Friday, March 13

The second month in a row that we had a Friday the thirteenth and I started it off by falling out of bed. It was a result of tripping on the blanket as I was still partly asleep. Not only that, but it was raining hard, with the winds rattling the windows. I tried not to think too negatively on it, but I couldn't get my shower water warm and I accidentally knocked a bowl of cereal on the floor. After I had put the milk in it, of course.

Sitting at the Ranch Table that served for my dining area, I recalled the last Friday the thirteenth. That had been when Bob had asked Monique out for the first time, after getting a lucky pink rose. It had been icy and cold, but it hadn't really been that unlucky. Given the way this one was starting out, I had to wonder about it.

On thinking of it, I pulled the first letter I'd gotten from Monique in her new town. It had arrived a few days ago.

Dear Nadia,

Hello; I hope you're doing well. I'm tired tonight, as the moving about is hard work. But I thought I would write to say that we arrived safely and things are working out so far.

We've moved to a town called Dusk. Apparently, it's a joke because the anchor is a sheep named Dawn, although I'm not sure it's all that clever. Bob thinks it's funny. I suppose it's because dawn and dusk are two different times that shouldn't be together… I'm still not sure it's funny.

Dawn seems too fussy on first impressions. She met with us as we were looking around town and suggested that we move into certain spots, to keep balance in town somehow. We told her that we'd rather live close to each other. To that, she offered two spots that were divided by the river, but close to a bridge so that we are practically neighbors anyhow. More uneven distribution seemed to bother her, so we went ahead with that area.

Dusk's river flows directly through the center of town and the layout is very nearly mirrored on both sides. There are two shops that are in the northern part of town balanced across the river, while the town hall and a formal garden are balanced in the southern part. It does give this place a sophisticated and elegant layout, and there's no cliffs and hills to climb. I think that I'll like it here, although the obsessive attention to balance seems overboard.

I'll write again when I'm not falling asleep at the table!

Your friend, Monique.

It was interesting to hear what another town could hold and look like. Verdant's river roamed about town and there were small hills, the cliffs, and Yggdrasil's hill. But it sounded like Dusk was quite flat, with a formal garden instead of a museum as well as a small river and no lake. Maybe Dawn liked her life to be more orderly, and thus her town reflected that.

No matter what day it was, I had my usual chores to attend to. I took my batbrella and headed outside to check for weeds and fossils; I was still working on furnishing the guest bedroom and paying off that whole upgrade. Before long, a gust caught my umbrella and nearly tore it out of my hands. "Careful out there today, Nadia," my gyroid called.

"I will, thanks," I said and I headed off the path to inspect things. The squish of the ground told me that I'd have to clean my shoes again tonight.

The ground seemed out to trip me during my walk, as I stumbled over roots and small rocks. I came across a dandelion puff once, but its white puffs were clumped and miserable looking due to the rain. On the bright side, when I was on the hill, I could see that Yggdrasil was starting to turn green at the tips far above my head.

As I walked-slipped down the hill, I spotted a bright yellow umbrella coming down the path. It was Dora, clinging onto her protection with both paws. "Morning Nadia," she called out.

"Morning," I called back, getting my balance on flat land again. "It's something of a rough day for a walk."

She nodded. "I know, but I like to take daily walks. I thought I'd better get back into it. Oh, and have you seen any clover patches around?"

"I've seen one pop up," I told her after going over my walks yesterday. "It's by the waterfall's pool, down on the east side."

The mouse thought on it. "Hmm, I'll have to look closely at it. See, I um, I'm looking for a four-leaf clover. A while ago, I had felt like I was in a rut, so I thought a good luck charm might help." She grimaced. "But then Sweetvale disappeared… I probably could use some good luck."

"Nobody was expecting that," I told her. I smiled. "Sorry about saying so, but this would be a tough day to start looking for one."

Dora chuckled. "I suppose so. Even without being the thirteenth…eep!" Both of us clasped our umbrellas against another sudden gust. She sighed. "Yeah, this weather is rough. But I thought that maybe if I looked anyhow, then I might be rewarded with a four-leaf clover for my persistence."

Then a voice spoke to us out of the rain. "If you wish to find a four-leaf clover, then you must think like the clover." I then saw Snake coming up to us; he carried a transparent umbrella that could only be seen by its frame and the water droplets.

Dora stiffened, her tail going still. Then she looked up and saw him. "O-oh, Snake, it's you. Don't scare me like that, squeaky! I thought it was Loki or something."

"Sorry about that," he said. "Too used to sneaking up on people." He spun his umbrella lightly, sending water droplets careening off it. "But learning to be unquiet is harder than it sounds…"

"I could agree with that, I guess," Dora said. "It's harder for me to speak up. You seem the same way Nadia, right?"

I nodded. "Yeah, you just get used to it. But, what were you saying earlier about thinking like a clover?"

The rabbit smiled. "Oh yes, just my thoughts. When you wish to find something hidden, think as it does, and you will find it."

Dora seemed about as puzzled as I was. "But how do you think like a four leaf clover?"

Oddly enough, this seemed to perplex Snake too. "Hmm… I'm not really sure. They like sunshine, right?"

"All plants like sunshine," she said.

But anything else was interrupted by a call from down the path. "GAH, you?"

We turned to see Goose running along the paths as usual, his pants and bare feet muddy today. He was carrying a flame-edged black umbrella, although it didn't seem too effective while he was at his usual jogging. "Hi Goose," I said. "What's the matter?"

"Hi Nadia, Dora." Glaring at Snake, the rooster took a moment to tune his breathing down from running. "How long have you been here?"

"A few minutes, talking with them," he replied. "Why?"

"But I just saw you heading down to the beach. How did you get up here before me?"

"Oh, that." He put a paw to his chin. "Well I thought I'd lost something at the beach, so I went there. But it wasn't in the spot I thought it was, so I went up to the police station to check the lost and found. It was there thankfully, so I was heading home when I saw them." He said this all calmly in a soft-spoken way; he definitely had a voice that was hard to imagine yelling.

Goose looked unconvinced. "But I ran nearly straight here when you say you were all over the place. How did you get here before me?"

Snake smiled proudly. "Oh, I move like the wind." A gust decided to blow our way then, splattering all of us with raindrops again.

"Cold and wet?" Dora asked, pulling her umbrella in closer.

"Quick and silent," he corrected.

"I guess I was moving pretty casual like," Goose said. Then he grinned. "But if I were to run at my best, you'd never beat me."

"Oh really?" Snake asked, daring him to try.

"Really," Goose dared back. "Sorry about running off so sudden, but would you mind counting down for us Nadia?"

"If you're sure you want to race on this slick day," I told them. Both nodded, so I relented. "Okay, don't get yourselves hurt. Three… two… one… go!"

Snake dashed off into the trees to the east, soon vanishing from our sight. On the other hand, Goose took off at full speed down the ramp, purposely slid the last half down, then raced off to the southeast.

The mouse and I watched them go. She shook her head. "Boys, always so competitive. What are you doing out this dreary morning, just wondering?"

"The usual things," I said. "Looking for weeds and fossils."

"Oh, mind if I help?" She smiled. "If you're going to be out working in a rain like this, might as well not be alone."

I smiled back. "If you don't mind, thanks. I've checked all of this upper area now, so we'll just head down. More carefully then he did, though."

She seemed to mostly want someone to talk to, which I didn't mind. We checked the one clover patch that had come up, but it was all three leaf clovers, holding in their buds until the rain cleared. And a bit later, we saw Goose running by us again. From the look on his face, I guessed that he had lost and challenged Snake again.

"I don't think I've ever gotten that worked up over something," Dora told me. "And, I can remember a bit about my life, where running was something I did if my life was in danger. So, it's not really pleasant."

"I can understand that," I said. "Although they must have enjoyed the speed." I did remember some of Goose's story, but I didn't want to share it, especially without his knowledge.

Another gust came by, but this one caught me adjusting my umbrella. It hit right into it, busting two of the supports and flipping the material off some parts of the frame. The 'fwap' noise it made startled Dora into slipping into a mud puddle, getting her blue dress muddy. I nearly slipped myself helping her up, laving me muddy on the pants legs and soon soaked in my shirt.

"Ick," she said, sweeping off some of the mud. "Too bad about your umbrella, Nadia. I can just wash this, but that's trash now."

"Right," I said. Then I pointed off to the south. "At least the Able Sisters are right there. Let's go in."

We hurried over there after Dora handed me her umbrella so we could share. To our surprise, Sable wasn't working as usual. She was at her sewing machine, but she was chatting there with Phyllis and Mabel over mugs of coffee. The younger sister got up quickly, "Oh sorr… sorry Phyllis!" Mabel squealed, after she bumped her mug into splashing a bit on the pelican's dress.

She just huffed and pulled out a wet napkin to dab at it. "You should drink more of your coffee while it's good and hot… but not splash it then."

"Oh, hello girls," Sable said, waving. "Looks like some nasty weather out there."

"No kidding," I said, shaking the umbrella outside before closing it to hand back to Dora.

"Welcome to our shop," Mabel said meekly. "Sorry, we were discussing Pointed Love over there."

"Really?" Dora asked, interested. "Oh my gosh, I just caught back up on the episodes last night. I can't believe that Reginald and Harold both asked Louisa out to the Harvest Moon Festival! I can't guess who she's going to pick either."

"Oh yes, that was intense," Mabel said, apparently forgetting her job or ignoring our wet and muddy clothes. "I really hope she goes with Harold; he's so rugged and cool."

"I think Harold is still trouble," Sable replied. "And Reginald has gone through so much that it'd be really sad if he doesn't win Louisa's love. But then, I'm afraid that they're going to just tease us with this choice and keep things inconclusive."

"She should go out with both of them," Phyllis stated. "That'd solve a number of her issues."

"What, seriously?" Mabel asked, sounding scandalized.

"I doubt they'll do that," Dora said. "But um, I need a new dress and Nadia broke her umbrella."

"Oh, of course, sorry," the blue hedgehog said, blushing. "We have some nice clothes in today, plus I pulled out the raincoats and boots along with the extra umbrellas, in case you'd rather use one to get back home and change. Or you can use the dressing room in back, so long as you pay first."

The other two continued talking about the show, which I guessed was a fairly popular soap opera. I hadn't watched much of my TV aside from the news and a comedy movie once. Dora found a Dutch shirt that could be made into a cute dress for her, but she also got a yellow raincoat due to the wind. And I bought a mint gingham umbrella, a matching shirt, and a pair of rain boots to go over my shoes. I wasn't too worried about my jeans, as I could change back home and get them washed later.

* * *

Saturday, March 14

"After catching nothing but cans and boots for a while, I finally hooked a rainbow trout," I said, telling a group at the Saturday party about my day yesterday. "But it somehow slipped off the hook and made a huge splash returning to the water, getting me soaked again. That Friday the thirteenth wasn't going to give up on me."

"Ouch, that sounds rough," Fang said. "When days like that start up, I find it easier to stay in my house instead."

"At least it was a fluke day," I said. "I haven't noticed anything particularly good or bad happen today in terms of luck."

Puddles patted my arm. "Hey, at least you helped clean up the river! Although, I'd like to know who keeps throwing that junk in."

"Mist monsters," Snake said abruptly, sitting in a chair that I was certain had been empty a minute ago. "That's the only explanation that works."

"EEP!" the pink frog said, hopping up into the seat of her chair and startling everyone in the Roost. "When did you get here?"

For a brief moment, Snake looked amused. "Just now," he said.

Fang was amused too. "Now you know how I feel when you jump into a conversation, Puddles," he said, grinning and showing off his teeth.

"Aw, but I do that because you're cute when startled," Puddles said.

"Huh?" the wolf asked, startled at her statement.

She giggled at that. "Just like that." Then she turned to Snake. "Did you startle me because you think I'm cute?"

"I do that to everybody," he replied. Then he frowned, seeming worried. It didn't last long though; he was pretty good at snapping back to a neutral emotional tone.

Most of the group didn't notice, as Puddles grinned in response. "Okay, so that settles it! Fang's my new boyfriend."

"Wh-what?" the wolf sputtered. Then he crossed his arms over his chest and looked away. "No I am not, cha-chomp. You annoy me."

"Well then I'll have to convince you otherwise," she said in a decisive tone, sitting back down in her chair.

"You have a big job there," I said teasingly.

"I don't care."

"The challenge can make it more exciting," Snake pointed out, sipping some hot tea out of one of Brewster's white mugs. It was odd, because I hadn't noticed it with him until then.

"You really are quite the ninja with your disappearing and appearing acts," I told him.

Pleased, he nodded. "Thanks."

"Isn't it usually magicians who make things disappear?" Puddles asked.

"It's the same trick, more or less," Snake said. "I did belong to the magician's club for a while."

"Oh yeah, they were cool," she said, nodding. "But I could never get the magic handkerchief trick to work right, because people would notice them and I never did like long sleeves. I belong to the Bug Hunter's club, the organic tea club, and the Sunshine Optimists Club."

"That's not surprising," Fang said.

She looked to him. "So did you join one of the fishing clubs? And are you in any clubs?" She then looked to me.

"You ask enough questions and we won't be able to answer anymore," Fang said gruffly.

"Maybe," I said. "I don't belong to any clubs yet. I've heard bits about them on the radio, but not much."

Puddles bobbed up, all eager. "Oh, then you ought to join something. Most of the clubs are really cool, and you get to learn new things from them and meet new people that are interested in the same things you are. And they hold competitions for nice rewards a lot, so you can become kind of famous too. Like when I finally earn my golden net, they'll put my name in the newsletter and everybody will know about it."

"You can usually find forms to join different ones at a library," Fang added. "I'm not sure ours is big enough to have many forms, though."

"Current members can send you forms too, in the mail," Puddles said.

"That's true. Then you just fill it out and mail it. Some have requirements, though. One of the better fishing clubs requires that you must have caught a certain number of different kinds of fish. I haven't got my collection book for fish yet, so I don't know if I qualify for that one."

Puddles chuckled. "If you don't watch yourself, I'll buy you one and send it right to you. Come on, you really need a fun hobby to loosen up with."

Fang frowned. "Why do you have to keep nagging me about that? I can handle myself."

"Cause I'm your girlfriend, silly billy."

"No you are not!" he replied firmly.

"Calm down, both of you," I said, holding my hand out. "Puddles, you could be more subtle about it."

"Isn't that like telling lightning to be subtle?" Snake commented.

Puddles laughed again, while Fang nodded. "See, he's only been here a few days and already he knows you."

"It's so funny because it's true," she agreed.

But her suggestion of joining a club stuck with me. There were still a few things that I was learning, but I had the hang of everyday life in Animal Crossing. The job of being an anchor and taking care of Verdant and its population kept me busy, but I had time to myself too. Also, I wondered about taking up a hobby. A lot of the residents seemed to have one, even if it was as simple as walking.

Besides, I thought, it might be necessary. Loki kept getting after me for being bland. But if I was part of a club or had a hobby, then that had to be interesting. And it would be working on one of the conditions on the card that stated the weaknesses of my soul.

I talked with it later with a calmer group, Dora, Rodeo, and Pecan. "I don't know what I'd pick, but there should be interesting options out there."

"Oh yes, there's lots of options," Dora said. "I've belonged to several, but right now I'm just with the Cheese Lover's Club."

Pecan sniffed, bobbing her brown tail. "The food clubs are so easy to belong to," she said with a bit of disdain. "The discounts on gourmet items are nice, but you don't do much of anything unless you're in a cooking club."

"I guess," the mouse said shyly. "But some clubs take a lot of work, more than they're worth. What clubs do you belong to?"

"Elegant Homes, of course." Seeing my curious look, she added, "A club dedicated to being the very best interior designers. And the Stalk Market Masters Club. It's difficult to belong to the first without being a member of the second, due to the finances required."

"I saw a Market Masters' newsletter once," Rodeo said. "It was so confusing, what with all the talks of spikes, busts, and blips. And none of the Market Masters seem to actually eat the turnips."

"Of course not, chipmunk," Pecan said dismissively. "They're much too valuable. They should only be eaten if they're close to a week old and the market is at rock bottom price."

"I like beets and lettuces better anyhow," the bull said. "I belong to the Green Thumb Club, but I'm working through the application process for the Rose Guild."

"What's different about that one?" I asked.

"Oh, it's a lot of work," he said, momentarily looking dispirited. "See, you have to have an exclusive rose garden with at least twenty flowers and two hybrid colors."

"But you have that, don't you?" Dora asked. "I've seen your pink and orange roses."

He nodded. "And I have the climbing rose, which helps. But then you also have to have it planned out all nice, with garden decorations that fit in. After you get it ready, you send in the application with a petal from one of your hybrids, and then they send a representative to judge your garden. I'm already getting the Sweet Roses magazine and they say that the Rose Guild is the hardest gardening club to join because of the garden judging. That's even over the Exotic Plants Club, which is expensive to join because they require you to have five rare plants in your garden and they don't count most hybrids."

"But if you like something, you should try joining the club for it," Pecan said. "Such as your Rose Guild. What do you like to do, Nadia?"

"Well I like to read," I said. "Maybe a book club."

"There's a few of those," Dora said. "Can you do anything special?"

I smiled a bit. "Je parle français. Y atil un club pour cela?"

"What?" she asked, puzzled.

"I speak French," I told her.

"I doubt there are any foreign language clubs around," Pecan said, smirking. "Everyone speaks the same words here, although a few individuals cross over knowing a second. Not enough to make anything social out of it."

"There might still be," Dora said. "I mean, it wouldn't be anything formal like the Rose Guild, but if enough people can speak two languages, someone might have started one. You haven't been around long enough to do that yourself, though."

"Well there's no need to rush, so consider it well," Pecan advised, sipping at her coffee.

* * *

Tuesday, March 17

I didn't have any Irish heritage to my knowledge, so I never really did much special for St. Patrick's Day. And I didn't expect there to be anything going on. But I did encounter Tortimer and Goose on the town hall plaza. "Enjoying the sunshine?" I called out to them.

"Oh yes, of course," Tortimer said, smiling. "After that last snowfall and all the rain and wind storms we've had since, a nice sunny day is just the thing to lift the spirits. And it's a holiday." He chuckled. "Good thing you're wearing green, sprout."

I did have my mint gingham shirt on. "Right, but I wouldn't have expected St. Patrick's to show up here," I said. "Would anyone remember enough to know Ireland?"

"Well it's not an official one," he admitted. "But, I'll take any excuse to make a day special!"

"Yeah, but why green?" Goose asked. I noted that he was wearing a red tank top with the number 1 on it. "I don't know anything about this holiday."

"It's because Ireland is a very green country, and they're proud of their history," I said. "Also, it's associated with things like four-leaf clovers and the coming official start of spring. I don't know much of it myself, but St. Patrick is said to have converted Ireland's people to Christianity, which is historically based, and to have driven out all the snakes from the country, which isn't based in history."

"Huh." Then he frowned and muttered, "Well I can think of one snake I'd like to drive out of here." Then he headed into the town hall.

"I also like green because it's my color," the tortoise said jokingly. "Well I can't give you a four leaf clover, but I can give you this." He pulled out a leaf item and handed it over. "It's a grass model, which will put a very realistic patch of grass on your floor. Put enough of them down and maybe you'll get a clover to grow inside!" He laughed.

I took the grass model. "That would be impressive," I said to amuse him. "Thank you." Then I went inside town hall myself. While I had a book to turn back in, I was also concerned about Goose. He was mailing off some letters, so I waited for him to step away from the counter. "Is something up with you and Snake?" I asked.

"He infuriates me," the chicken said, tensing up. "I mean, sometimes I think I shouldn't let it get to me. But he keeps winning our races! Without breaking a sweat even! I don't know about you, buh-kay, but I think he's cheating."

That puzzled me. "Cheating? How would he cheat in a race, but not make it obvious?"

"It isn't obvious, not like tripping me or throwing something on my path. But still, I run an honest race and when I can see him, Snake doesn't seem all that quick. But once I lose sight of him, bam, all of a sudden he's right at the finish line just chilling out." He crossed his wings over his chest. "I just don't get it."

I considered what I had seen of our newest resident. "Maybe he jumps through the trees instead of running around them," I suggested. "I've seen him drop out of trees before and he seems comfortable doing so."

"Could be." Goose sighed, relaxing his body some. "I dunno, it makes me feel bad when I run an honest footrace and work so hard at it and this new guy shows up and moves even quicker than me, not seeming to put any effort in. Maybe it's because he's a rabbit."

"Have you tried asking how he trains?"

"That could be interesting," he admitted. "But when I asked him how he keeps winning, he wouldn't say. Said it was a ninja secret or something."

"Odd." I thought of something which made me smile. "Well if you're going to be rivals, be friendly about it, all right? Having someone who can do that well egging you on is sure to make you push yourself to be even better."

He brightened up to that. "Hey, yeah! That'd work out great. Thanks Nadia. If he's going to be all chill and smug around me, well then I'll have to throw it right back at him and push up my game. I'd better get to practicing then. See ya!" He headed out.

"Good luck," I said to him, waving.

* * *

_In WW, Sable will talk about watching her favorite soap opera, Pointed Love (I think on Thursdays if you're friends with her). In the GC game, Phyllis will complain about missing her soaps at some point in her dialogue tree. So it only makes sense that if those two were to connect, it'd be about soap operas._

_The neighbors will talk about clubs at random, but usually weird ones. Queenie was gossiping with me about how two random neighbors were in the same organic *random food item* club, and I had one jock-type want to start a lacrosse team with me once. Love those random dialogues._

_This morning, I got my golden fishing rod for WW! But I have to wait until June (and the firefly) for the golden net..._


	22. The Rose Guild

**Chapter 21: The Rose Guild**

Friday, March 20

The big buzz around town was that on Sunday, there would be a fishing tournament. Fang was the primary fisher of our town, but the idea of a contest about it seemed to get everyone excited. As for me, I wasn't too concerned about it. I was still working at getting the town in good shape. We had the trees in the proper numbers, it seemed, so I was buying up any non-rose flowers to plant around town. As I couldn't order seeds through Nook, it was a slow process. But I planted similar kinds near each other, hoping to get hybrids or more of them.

Still, a day of fishing would be a nice break, and a fish fry was planned immediately after with the fish that people had turned in. That would be fun.

As I was checking on the trees that afternoon, which were starting to fill out with leaves, I spotted Snake sitting in one, watching Puddles as she was on the ground. The frog was observing a patch of cosmos intensely, with her net held over her shoulder. There must have been some bug there. Not wanting to disturb her, I went over to the tree. "Hi there, Snake," I said.

He gave me a salute. "Hi there, Nadia. Want to come up? It's a nice day for tree sitting."

"It's a bit cool still, but all right." I grabbed hold of a lower branch and stepped on a split in the trunk to get up in. "Been a while since I've climbed trees."

"A tree is often the best place to be." He smiled as I sat on another branch. "It'd be nicer when the leaves are in full. Sometimes after an intense training session, I like to go take a nap in a tree with leaves. It's quite relaxing."

I smiled back. "As long as you don't fall out. Since you don't seem to be napping, what are you doing here?"

He waved a paw to where Puddles was still stalking her bugs. "Observation; information is highly valuable and you have to know how to gather it. That, and breathing exercises."

"You work on your breathing?" I remembered some talk on that in my previous life, but not fully.

Nodding, he explained, "See, some guys think you just have to constantly practice and push yourself to grow stronger, faster, and better. But it's not all about building muscle; it's about whole body health." He tapped his black nose. "When you learn to breathe effectively, your body takes in air more efficiently. This gives your muscles more oxygen to work better, so that you get more effect for your effort. It also helps your body recover faster, say if you pull a muscle doing something extra tough."

"That's a pretty smart way to look at things," I responded.

Snake smiled briefly. "Yeah. But then, it makes me different from other jocks, right? And I'm a different than other rabbits too, at least the ones I've met. They were concerned about being cute, and I'm not. It's kind of weird; I never really fit in, but I never really stood out. So I became a ninja."

"To stand out?" I asked, puzzled. "Isn't that what a ninja is not supposed to do?"

He laughed. "Yeah, I know. But see, I took a weakness and made it a strength. Sort of. Sometimes I think I'd rather fit in, though. I'm partly up here to avoid Goose too."

"Have you two been fighting?" I asked.

He shook his head. "Not much, although he's insisted on being a rival. I don't mind that, but I don't want to compete every day. Every other day, maybe. Though if he were smart, he'd ask me to race along the beach more often. That negates my advantages."

"What advantages?"

"Oh, stuff I've learned to do." He put a paw to his cheek. "Right, I did make some observations that you might be interested in. We have a pair of visitors in town today."

"Really? Who are they?"

Pointing off north, Snake said, "The lady is Queenie, and she should still be up with Rodeo. She's the representative from the Rose Guild that's come to judge his garden. And the fellow is named Rowan. You can't miss him; he's a great big guy, a tiger. I didn't catch why exactly he's here, but I think he's just visiting out of curiosity."

The Rose Guild... I wondered if I should check in on them or not. They were reportedly tough judges, so they might not appreciate someone interrupting. Then again, Rodeo had to be nervous about it and might like the support. "Ah. Thanks for telling me."

"Hey," a voice interrupted us. Fang was on the path near the tree we were sitting in. "What are you two doing up there?"

"Shooting the breeze," I replied, waving. "More or less."

"How do you shoot a breeze?" Snake asked, puzzled at my statement. "That would take some seriously skilled aim and an advanced slingshot."

"It's just a saying, you jock," Fang said dismissively. He turned to keep walking.

But then Puddles surprised us all by jumping up and shouting, "I"VE GOT A NINE-SPOTTED LADYBUG!"

I caught myself on another branch before I fell out of the tree, but Fang was startled enough that he jumped into the tree. He tried to compose himself while she laughed. "Puddles, what was that for? You'll scare all your bugs away shouting like that."

She skipped to the path, showing off a plastic bug container. "Aw, they were just common ladybugs, ones that I've caught ages ago. But this little lady, splish, this one is a true rarity, something bug connoisseurs love to have. Lots of ladybugs only have a few spots, but this is truly another species."

"You want to donate it to the museum, then?" I asked, still up in the tree. "That way, everyone can see your accomplishment and appreciate your bug."

Puddles grinned. "Ah yeah, that's the ticket! But I'd better go right away before I'm tempted to keep it myself." She started running off.

Fang snorted. "Nice work distracting her," he said, looking back up. Then, he looked surprised. "Hey, wasn't Snake with you just now?"

I glanced at where he'd been sitting, but the branch was empty. There was no sign that he had been there. As I no longer had a reason to be up there, I descended the tree. "He was, but I guess he snuck off while we were distracted." After I jumped onto the ground, I asked, "What are you doing? Fishing today?"

He shook his head. "Nah. Fishing is partly about luck, and I don't want to use up my luck before the competition." He then pulled a book out of one pocket. "I did pick up a fishing records book. You know, I didn't want to at first because I didn't want to look like some kind of fish geek. But when I checked through it, I've gotten more fish than I thought I did." He opened up a few pages, then pointed out an entry. "See? I've even got a manta ray. That was one of my very first catches and according to this, it's extremely rare."

"Like her nine-spotted ladybug?" I asked, looking over the picture. It was pretty large and must have been hard to reel in.

"I guess so," he said. "Manta rays don't even show up in every town. And that lets me sign in to some of the upper level fishing clubs so I can get better advice on getting the golden fishing rod."

"That's great. I hope you can do it."

He nodded and put the book back. "Say, did you join a club yet?"

"One," I said, not enthusiastic about it. "Puddles sent me an invitation to her organic teas club, but the starting sample basket they sent me wasn't all that great. I liked two of the ones I've tried, but others aren't to my tastes. I'll run through the trial period, but I'm already considering dropping it."

"Hmm. Some people would say, 'at least you tried', but yeah, it seems like a waste to me. Excuse me, but I've got a couple things to take care of. See you around."

"You too Fang." Then I decided to head back north to see how Rodeo's garden exam was going.

As he had been taking any rose seed packets he could get, the bull's garden was quite extensive now, with new patches showing up by the train station and Yggdrasil's hill. I found him and the judge at his original garden site, to the west of his house. Queenie was a tall purple bird with pink legs. And yet, her lacy blouse, gold necklace, and knee-length skirt seemed rather prim. It may have been the way she carried herself, examining things with a critical eye. Rodeo did look nervous, trying to brush his bangs out of his eyes. But he smiled on seeing me.

"You've got so many basics that it's hard to believe that you're not displaying any more hybrids," the judge said disapprovingly. "And you have only one special, that climbing rose over there. It seems somewhat lacking for effort."

"I have been working hard on these ones," he said, trying to defend himself. "Oh, and this is the town anchor, Nadia. Nadia, this is Miss Queenie, from the Rose Guild."

"Hello," I said politely, although she seemed a tad too critical to really be a friend with. "Nice to meet you."

"Good day," she replied, moving a clipboard under one wing to shake my hand. "So Rodeo here has been working hard at his garden, right?"

I nodded. "Sure. He started around a week after the town was founded. That sounds about right, huh?"

"Close enough, chaps," he said.

"After the town was founded?' Queenie asked, puzzled. "When was that?"

"The start of December, last year," I told her. "It's been a snowy and icy winter, but he still worked at keeping his roses going. Even when a thorny rafflesia popped up, right around here."

Her eyes widened. "Mercy, truly?" Once I confirmed this, she took her clipboard and made a note. "Hmm, well I suppose gardening under adversity counts as proof of devotion. Hon, did you bring any flowers with you when you moved out here?"

"No, I didn't," Rodeo said. "I bought most of these in this town, except that climber which came from Chime City and a few wild ones that popped up. And the bugs that are here, I caught and moved them, like the ladybugs, to help take care of the flowers."

"Well that explains the work in progress feel of it," Queenie mumbled, still making notes. "Many of us won't settle for the Nook brand seeds. Then again, there is quaintness to it."

Rodeo looked to me, as if uncertain if being quaint was a good thing. I shrugged, but patted his arm. I really didn't know if it was good in this context or not either.

"And the town's not in a perfect environment stage yet, so that affects things," she went on, halfway to herself. "Everything's got to come under consideration. Well hon, I'm going to take another look around, and get some pictures. It'll be discussed in committee tonight, so you'll find out by mail sometime tomorrow. Make sure your box is clear."

"Of course," he said. But I ended up going on a walk with him around town later to dispel some of his nervousness.

I did run into the town's other visitor before then. Rowan was as Snake described him, an orange tiger that was more than a head taller than me, as big as Rodeo with well-toned muscles. Over by the lake, he was taking pictures and watching a fish's shadow. I walked along the shore and waved to him. "Good afternoon, sir."

He straightened up to look at me, then broke into a wide grin. "Evening, miss," he said. Or rather, bellowed. "You must be the famed human that's come in, Nadia. How wonderful to meet you! I'm Rowan." He came over for an enthusiastic handshake.

"Yes, that's me," I said. "It's good to have a visitor; what are you here for?"

"Oh, just looking around, mango." He waved off to the dirt path nearby. "It's kind of nice to see an undeveloped town again. The place where I live, by golly, you'd think it was a mini-city! Paved walks everywhere and so few trees. Are you going to keep the trees this way, or what?"

I smiled as I looked over the early spring green around us. "They're staying this way. I plan on putting in more palm tress, but that's a bit slow right now as we've only had four grow successfully. I like the trees this way; it's just getting in more flowers now."

"Good answer," he said, winking at me. "Some animals just don't seem to appreciate nature, even though it's where several of us ultimately came from. Any more buildings?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. We are working on getting a separate library, but that's it for now. I'd add to the town's enrichment fund just to get some lights installed along pathways, but I'm still working on my house mortgage. It'll come eventually."

He nodded. "Ah, so no use in worrying about it now. Say, do you like kids?"

Huh? Even though he'd been questioning me, that seemed to come out of the blue. But, I nodded back. "Oh sure. I have two myself."

That shocked him. "What, really? I didn't think…"

Chuckling, I explained, "Not here, no. It was in my past life. I miss them, but I know they're coping well and doing all right." I found myself thinking like that more often. This didn't seem like an afterlife; it was more of its own life.

Rowan laughed at that, his laughter as booming as his voice. "Right, of course! You humans do live different. But, you must be outstanding to become an anchor. All right then." He looked at his watch. "Hmm, do you know when the next train arrives? I've been gone a long while today and I need to get back home."

I checked my own watch. "It should be arriving in eight minutes or so."

"Is that so? I'd better get moving, then. But good meeting you! You have a nice town with good potential. Don't let another tell you otherwise." He then put his camera up and hurried off north.

* * *

Saturday, March 21

It was the first official day of spring, and so Tortimer had been outside giving away various flower models to bring inside, fake ones that wouldn't need watering. I was given a white pansy model. Funny; it reminded me of my first day here when he had given me a set of actual white pansies as a welcome gift. But the only villagers left from that time were Goose and Rodeo. Everyone else had moved on, one way or another.

Although it was a cool day, there was no wind. We held the first part of our weekly party just outside of the museum. It was mostly talk out here; when the sun went fully down, we'd go inside for snacks and music. Rodeo came by a bit late (although that was usual), but he seemed excited. "Hey everyone! I got into the Rose Guild!"

"Wooooo, go you!" Puddles shouted, clapping and hopping up, loudest among the cheers to this announcement. "That's awesome, splish!"

"You deserve it, buddy," Goose said, playfully punching him in the arm.

The bull was all grins. "Thanks guys. Especially you, Nadia." He came over and hugged me. "I think you put things in my favor with the judge yesterday."

Accepting his hug, I said, "You're welcome. Although, I didn't say much."

He stepped back, putting a hoof to his chest. "But you said enough. Anyhow, hopefully I can find the secret to a gold rose soon. In the meantime, I've got a discount card for the city greenhouses now. I was thinking of going in soon to see what was available. Do you want to come with me, Nadia? I can use my card to help buy some water lilies for the town lake."

"You sure you want to do that?" I asked. When he nodded, I added, "That's generous of you; sure, I'll come out with you some time this week."

"The water lilies can be expensive for flowers, though," Tortimer said. "Especially if you want to get the giants that look best in a lake."

"But they'd look awesome there," Goose said. "I'd be willing to pitch in some money to get some."

Several others were willing too, so Tortimer and I got a small fund started that evening to buy the lilies. Even Dora donated some, after which she said, "Um, I did have an idea for something the town could do," she said to me and Tortimer, uncertain.

"What is it, sprout?" Tortimer asked, smiling. "I'll listen to any suggestions."

She put her paw to her chin. "Well, since spring is here, the Flower Festival is coming up, right? When is it?"

"I haven't set that down in stone yet," he answered. "When would you like to plant it?" He then laughed at his joke.

The mouse smiled. "Some time in May? See, the library is trying to get funds to have a separate building and my pen pals indicated that quite a few people are curious about Verdant. So, how about we have the last two days of the festival open to visitors? You'd have to move the judging up to that Friday, but then we could have a little carnival for flowers and raise money for the library."

"That could be fun," I said. "We'd need it to be in May then, so that we have plenty of time to prepare."

The tortoise nodded. "Right. That could give the funding the push it needs, but it'll also be noisy and a lot of work. Hang on." Tortimer rapped his cane on the stone paving, getting most people's attention. "All right everyone! We have a town discussion topic on hand. As you probably know, we're working towards getting the library a new building as our big community project. We have a suggestion now to open up the last days of the Spring Flower Festival to visitors as a fundraiser for this. Since we'll need plenty of time to prepare ourselves and invite others to the festival, we'll need to schedule it for late May. What are your thoughts on that?"

"Sounds great to me!" Puddles said.

"Rodeo's our main gardener, so his say should count more," Fang suggested, nodding to the bull.

At this, Rodeo tapped his hoof against his head. "Oh golly, chaps. I mean, my garden's on the low end still, but if I had the time..."

"Low end?" I said, patting his arm. "Your garden is really large and you are in the Rose Guild. Someone might come by to give you tips."

"Hmm, that could be good," he said. "Yeah, maybe by May I'll have more impressive hybrids growing. I'll do my best."

"We'll need to make sure there's plenty of flowerbeds all through Verdant," Dora said, smiling and seeming more lively than I'd seen her yet. "With lots of color!"

"You'd better get some good acts and booths to make it a decent festival," Pecan said.

"I know some musicians," I said, thinking of Patty and Deena. Would they be done with their training by then? Maybe we could convince their manager that it would be a good debut. K.K. would be good too, although I wasn't sure how to track him down.

"I have some friends who could help out," Snake said. "Any of you could do the same; contact friends that you know have something they could add and see if they'll come for the weekend."

"Sounds like some great ideas bubbling around," Tortimer said, clapping his hands together. "Just be sure if you invite somebody to contribute, let me know too; have them contact me. Any objections?"

There were none, so it seemed we'd be preparing for a big Flower Festival.

* * *

_And that will be the next big event!  
_

_Woo, finally back to this! Of course, it's a little hard to control my muse sometime *hopes to at least finish the spring arc this time around* New Leaf just came out and it looks awesome. I can't get it myself yet, but I'll be working towards that. In the meanwhile, me and my sis both restarted our WW games. I need to go see if my fruit trees took hold..._

_I would like to include some things from New Leaf, but not all that I'd like to know would be in FAQs. If you've got the game and don't mind answering some questions for me, let me know!_


	23. Water Lilies

**Chapter 22: Water Lilies**

Sunday, March 22

Blanca's train was the one that picked up Rodeo and I when we set off to Chime City to get the water lilies. She was the primary engineer for the regional rail network under Chime City, which would explain why we saw her most often. Today, she didn't seem too busy. But her face was a complete blank, not even showing eyes. "You're leaving Verdant for a little while?" she asked me. "Be sure to be careful."

I nodded, although I felt a little uncomfortable looking at an empty face even knowing that it was a mask. How did she see? Or was she naturally blind and used other methods to get around? "I know, but thanks for your concern."

On the other hand, Rodeo was spooked. "Uh, s-sure, but um..."

"Hmm?" Blanca touched her cheek, then lay her ears back. "Oh no, did I wash off my face off again? I'm terribly sorry. I used to be such a slob at one time, if you can believe it. I've been trying to keep clean but then this has to happen all the time."

"What kind of cleaners do you use to erase your face?" I asked. "They must be pretty harsh."

"True, I do have to use a lot of moisturizers too. Well this won't do while I'm working. Would one or both of you mind drawing me a new face?"

"I've never drawn a face on a person before," Rodeo said. But in his goodhearted way, he smiled. "But I'll give it a try. Would you help me, Nadia? I don't know much about how girls use makeup."

I have to admit, it seemed like a fun idea. Blanca was doing her best to keep the passengers happy. Maybe when the train was near empty like this, or if a particularly restless passenger was on, she washed her face or switched masks to give us something to do. "Sure."

The white cat sat down on the bench opposite us. "Please try to make it neat; I do need to keep a certain level of professionalism even if I like a relaxed atmosphere for traveling. Here, I've gotten into the habit of keeping markers on me." Then she handed us a bag filled with lots of colors and options.

After looking through the markers, Rodeo started drawing pink daisies on Blanca's cheeks and forehead. I took a dark blue marker and gave her some simple eyes, then used a red marker for some small lips and an black one for a little suggestion of a cat nose. She ended up looking like a kid who had stuck flower stickers on her face, but she thanked us and took the markers back when the train arrived at the Chime City station.

Chime City was warm and sunny when we arrived. "One more thing before you go," Blanca said, coming down to the last step on the train. "Nadia, if you use your house key to press the button to ask for a ride, it will take priority over other requests. It should only save a few minutes, but the central station needs us to keep a special eye out for anchors."

"Okay, I'll keep that in mind," I said. Then I stepped off the platform to join Rodeo. Ahead of us, the fountain plaza was buzzing with activity, with lots of animals going about their business and checking out stores. "Where do you want to go first?"

"Um, well," he tapped his hooves together, "I don't want to keep you for long, especially with the Fishing Tourney going on back home."

"I don't intend to participate, although I would like to be there for the announcement of the winners," I told him. "That's several hours away."

"Right. Well if it's okay, can we go see a show in the theater?" He smiled. "I've never been in there, but if I'm going to be a fancy rose gardener, then I might as well be a cultured kind of person."

I tried not to laugh as I nodded and patted his arm. "That sounds like fun. Let's go see when the next show starts."

"Sure!" Now that he was happy again, we went over to the theater and checked their schedule. And we got lucky; there was a show starting in just a few minutes and we were able to buy tickets for it.

It was a small theater, with a stage that seemed only able to handle a few actors. For this show there was no scenery, just a piano to the side and a single stool by the microphone. There weren't many seats in the audience either, but most of them were taken when we entered. We did manage to get a pair of seats together, in back as Rodeo didn't want to block anyone's view.

After a short wait, Dr. Shrunk came in from behind the curtains. A blue rabbit sat at the piano and played a cheery intro piece. "Hello, everyone, and welcome to the Chime City Theater's production of The Illustrious Dr. Shrunk's Magnificent Comedy Hour! Yes, it will be comic and funny because if there aren't any laughs, then that's just tragic. I am the host and star of the hour, Dr. Shrunk, your fabulous guide to expression and drama. Today, we will be discussing surprise, shock, and horror! Hopefully not the gross kind, because I have a weak stomach and I'm sure you didn't come to see that kind of drama. As always, I'd like you to remember that while subtle emotions have their place, if you really want to get your message across without any words, then put everything into your emotions! It is guaranteed to make your life more colorful. Watch, and listen close now... BOO!" He whipped out a bright yellow smiley face mask, making everyone laugh after a stunned moment.

Just as before, Dr. Shrunk was an animated person, with his expression shifting often, even between extremes. He did have a knack for story-telling. I found it engrossing to listen to and watch him, even if some of his laughs were cheap jokes. For a bit, I wondered if he had a television show. But it might not be as interesting filmed as it was up close and in person.

The hour passed by quickly. After the show, Dr. Shrunk hopped off the stage and greeted audience members that hung around. He even came back to stop by the two of us. "Oh, hello again, odd human," Dr. Shrunk said. "Come with one of your friends, huh? I remember you two, the chai with vanilla, and the rose hip tea with milk and honey." He grinned at Rodeo. "You were such an interesting one too; it's unusual that I match a tea with your kind of personality."

Rodeo's eyes widened. "Hey, maybe it really was perfect! Because, I just got accepted into the Rose Guild and we came here to buy plants."

Giving an equal expression of surprise, Dr. Shrunk clapped him on the back. "Brilliant! And congratulations on making it into such a prestigious group. So how have you been doing with finding a point of interest, miss?" He looked questioningly at me.

I shrugged. "I'm mostly keeping up on my town, trying to get it into a good state. But I have gotten an interest in trying out clubs."

Dr. Shrunk nodded and snapped his fingers. "Excellent idea. Look for a club that seems interesting to you, and maybe you will be interesting to them. Gardening clubs are good, just don't start on a high level one like he's in. If you want to see what options there are, might I suggest that you take a peek into the public library here? Go to the reference area and ask for the Animal Crossing Club Index and Archive. The book is massive!" He spread his arms out to show how massive it was. "But, it's also a bit of magic, since it will respond to voice command. Ask them more about that."

"That was one of the issues I had, trying to find what was out there," I said. "Thanks! You mind taking a look in there, Rodeo?"

"Not at all," the bull said, smiling. "You came here for me, so I'll go there for you."

"Beautiful, now go have some fun," Dr. Shrunk said, bowing to us.

I remembered where the library was from when I'd come here with Tortimer, and according to the map the greenhouse wasn't that far away from there. We walked over, talking about the show and if people actually used it to learn better expressions. As a human, that kind of self-expression was normal, if exaggerated in the way Dr. Shrunk used it. But the animals might need to learn those skills and a theater seemed like a good way. I could also remember how animated some of the animals had been, so they certainly were making use of it.

Due to how lovely the day was, there weren't many people in the library and we were able to get the index easily. The tiger who was the head of the library that helped us out with it, bringing it out to one of the tables. It was so big, they had a special cart just to hold it. Closed, it was bigger than my child-sized torso.

"Don't worry about how to handle it," the head librarian said. "The ACCIA may look intimidating, but it's really quite friendly. What you do is decide what kind of club you want to find. One thing to keep in mind is that this book contains reference files to newsletters and club magazines to all clubs that have ever been registered in more than one town, even those that are no longer in existence. Since you're looking for a club to join, make sure to ask for an active and public club first. You have to be invited or tested to join a private club, so it's better to join a related public club to get referred to the private ones. Then just tell the ACCIA what kind of subject you're interested in, and it will get you a list of what's available. When you're done with it, wheel it back to the reference desk please. You can also ask about club registration forms there."

Once he was gone, we looked over the silver and blue cover on the book. It contained many symbols, perhaps signs of popular clubs. On the side of the cart, there was a small drawer with pieces of paper, pencils, and erasers for making notes. "An archive of all clubs ever in Animal Crossing?" I thought aloud. "No wonder it's so large."

"I hadn't heard that clubs could disappear," Rodeo said. "Maybe if all their members leave? Because it's not a club if nobody's in it."

"Sounds right." I touched the book. "Okay... ACCIA, I'd like to find some active and public clubs for... reading or books."

The book shook, so I took my hand off it. It opened up and flipped to a few pages to list the reading and book clubs that it could find. The book even twitched the page on the right to show that it had more listings. On the left page, it had a number of general clubs on the subject. Then it suggested some other related topics, like about specific book genres, writing, or even libraries. There were a few interesting options, including one called 'Reading Circles Club'. I touched the name of that one briefly.

With that picked, the book flipped further into itself, opening up to an entry about the Reading Circles Club. There was a lot of information there, like how many people were members, how long the club had been in existence, if there were requirements to join, and a long description of what the club was about. Reading Circles was set up to bring together groups of readers for meetings to discuss books. Every month, the club circle leader would assign a fiction book for all of the circle to read; they would discuss it at that month's meetings, but could also talk about other books they were reading.

"That seems like it would be nice for making friends," Rodeo said.

I nodded. "Yes, but... I'd certainly have to buy most of the books, as I don't own many and our current library doesn't have much. And as an anchor, I shouldn't leave Verdant a lot. I might be able to host a circle myself, but there's also this note here, saying that there's no members in the Chime City district. It'd be nice to keep in mind; I might be able to start one up later. So, ACCIA, would you go back to where I was?"

The book went back to the list. I checked out a few more, getting some paper and a pencil to write down some that looked interesting. On a suggestion from Rodeo, I also looked into some baking clubs. "Because you make really nice things every week for the party," he said. "I think they'd really like someone talented like you."

"I make things because I enjoy making them," I said. But that was a good reason to join a baking club, so I took down the names of a few of them.

Just for fun, I also asked the ACCIA book to give me a random mix of active clubs. And it did, listing clubs for amateur ceramics, for knitting, for weight lifting, for party planning, for playing pianos, for collecting shells, for spirituality, for making fireworks... "Oh, what's that one?" Rodeo asked, pointing out the 'Simply Strolls'.

"Maybe about walking?" I said as the book opened up to the entry. I read over the description aloud. "'Once a group of friends known as the Sunny Strollers, we are now a casual group of many interests, but all united by a love of an enjoyable walk in any kind of weather. We are here to make friends, keep friends, and expand everyone's horizon a little. In our monthly newsletter, you'll get articles on a wide variety of topics that will help make your everyday strolls more enjoyable, such as helping your neighbors, keeping the environment nice, reviews on shoes and umbrellas, suggestions on fun fashions, snacks to enjoy, and much more. We also sponsor a thriving pen pal program among our members, so you're sure to meet a new person or two that you'll get along with wonderfully.'"

"That sounds very nice," Rodeo said.

"It does," I agreed. "I wonder if Dora would like them too. She likes to take walks." I took the name of that club down with the rest, and then returned the book. From the reference desk librarian, I picked up an application for Simply Strolls, as well as Club of Pages (a book lover's group) and Curious Bakers. Then we headed out of the main reason we came here, checking out the greenhouse shop.

The greenhouse was a huge complex, with many large glass-walled buildings. Only a quarter of all the buildings were what made up the shop, as the rest kept a farm that supplied the Chime City district with basic foods and materials. There was a lot to look at, but we were only interested in two items, roses and pond lilies. First, we went to check out the roses.

They had quite a variety available, like double-blooming varieties, bushy roses, miniature roses, climbing roses, and even a bush they called a rose tree, which grew to be eight feet tall. Every kind came in many colors and shades. "You could make an amazing garden with flowers like these," Rodeo said, interested in all of them. "But, I wouldn't want to get something that would stand out too much from the rest of my garden. Just something to make it fancier."

"A showpiece until you get your golden rose?" I asked.

He nodded. "Yeah. I was thinking about getting another climber, so I can put it on the other side of my house. But then which one for a showpiece?"

"Which one do you like most?"

"Um, all of them," he said, blushing. "Maybe something bigger, like the bushes. Or, maybe that tree." He went over to look at the bushes closer, so I followed. After a few minutes, he decided to get a yellow rose tree and another orange climbing rose.

Then we went to another area where they had water plants on display. There were a lot of small ones, but the one the others had wanted was quite obvious: a blooming water lily that had pads of six to nine feet across, with flowers that could have rested across Rodeo's horns. The one they had on display was white, but a sign said they had other colors available. To get one on the town's behalf, we had to call one of the workers over to set things up. Buying for the town gave a discount on the price, as did having a resident in an advanced gardening club. With that, I could get a starter for the water lily as well as a grouping of cattails for the pond.

While we were paying for the plants, the greenhouse worker asked us for the current date in Verdant. "You're in good time to get them rooted so they'll bloom this summer," she said. "It'll take about four days for the first lilypads to appear; they'll be small, but the larger ones will come up once the plant is established."

"How do I get them into the pond?" I asked.

"Turn them while holding the seed bag on the surface of the pond or lake you wish them to be in," she explained. "If you have a dock, you might want to place them in a spot on the opposite shore so there's less of a chance of them ending up taking over the dock."

With that, our business in Chime City was done and we left for home.

* * *

Back in Verdant, I brought the water lily seed bag and the cattail seed bags straight to the lake on the lower level. On one side of the lake, there was an otter in a blue coat who had a table set up. A sign hanging off the side of the table said, 'Fishing Tourney Registration and Judging'. "Good afternoon!" the otter called out. "Are you here to register for the tournament today?"

"Not this time around," I said. "I'm here to put some plants in the lake."

He gave me a salute. "Splendid! That will make great habitat for fish. I'm Chip, by the way, officiate and judge for the fishing tourney."

I nodded to him. "Good to meet you. I'm the anchor, Nadia. When does the tournament end? I wanted to be here to watch."

"Five o'clock sharp," he said. "There's four competitors today, pretty close so far. Not many involved, but it's a new town so not that surprising. I'll see you at five then."

I crossed over to the other side of the lake to plant the water lily and cattails. The latter sprouted up immediately like the flowers did, with leafy stems and tall stalks. The lily didn't appear at all, but it should have gone in place on the lake bed. With that done, I checked the town over for weeds and the progress of flowers, then checked in on how my neighbors were doing.

At five o'clock, I returned to the lake, accompanied by Tortimer who had decided to come see how things turned out as well. As I thought, Fang had participated, along with Puddles, Goose, and Snake. Chip came out from behind the desk, holding onto a box. "We had a small competition today, but the great enthusiasm I saw was encouraging. The challenge for this tourney was to catch the fish with the most length of the group. I saw some nice big fish today, but only one can win. So then, in third place came Goose, with his brawny Large Bass. Here is your bronze trophy." He passed over an item that looked like a medal; I supposed it was like the other items that appeared as leaves.

"All right, at least I'm not in the loser's slot!" Goose said, accepting it.

"You all caught fish, which makes none of you losers," Chip said, taking out a second medal. "In second place, we have Puddles with her excellent Sea Bass. Good work, you have earned a silver trophy."

"That's good," Puddles said, accepting it. "It's not a bug catching competition, after all."

"And our winner, with the biggest and best fish caught today," Chip said quickly, ignoring her bug catching comment, "is Fang, for his magnificent and unexpected eel! I don't see eels entered that often, so that's quite a catch for this season. You also caught and entered the most fist, although that wasn't the point. Still, excellent work and I'm thinking you should give a bigger tourney a shot. Here's your gold trophy."

"Hmph, I got surprised with that eel too," Fang said, giving a bow as he accepted the trophy. "It is expected that the one with the most passion becomes the winner."

Elsewhere, Goose gave a taunting sign to Snake. "Hah, I placed better than you."

Snake brushed his ears back, although they flipped right back up in place. "It's luck that's a big factor in this. Not skill, such as in running."

"What did you say?!" Goose asked, clenching his wings tight.

"It's luck and skill," Chip said, coming back over and passing over a shirt to Snake. "Thanks for participating, and good luck next time."

"Thanks, bunyip," he said. He checked the tag, then held it close with a smug smile to Goose. "Hey look, I've got a fishbone shirt. And that's much more useful than a bronze trophy."

"Still means that you're the loser today," Goose said, holding onto his trophy.

Snake took a step back, towards the lake. "Hey, take it chill now. See ya." He then jumped backwards into the water, swimming away.

I went over to Goose. "Don't let him get to you," I reminded him gently. "He's not even that much of a bully."

"I just need to find out what his trick is," Goose said. "Still, I've beat him out in a few things."

We were going to talk to Fang and congratulate him, but Puddles was already bugging him. "Hey, what fish would you give to someone you love? Like a symbolic symbol of your feelings?"

"Well that would probably be..." the white wolf started to say, but then stopped himself. "I am not telling you that, cha-chomp! Because then you'd be trying to give that fish to me."

"Aw, what's wrong with that, splish?" Puddles asked, putting her hands behind her back and acting cute. "I'd give you a pet bug, but you don't seem interested in that."

"Just leave me be," he growled, then stormed off back home.

"I really don't think she's being serious, but it's certainly fun to watch them," Goose said.

"I'd agree with the non-seriousness." Seeing that she was deciding on chasing him or not, I went up to her. "Hey Puddles, you shouldn't be making today's winner grumpy."

She turned to me, grinning. "Aw, but isn't he always grumpy? Maybe I'll just look for pretty fish for a present. But first, back to bug hunting!" She swapped out her pole for a net, then skipped off to hunt.

Life as usual.

* * *

_Simple little chapter. I loved the waterlilies in the Gamecube's AC, and how the lake had a dock on it. Made it seem more like an actual lake.  
_


	24. The Puzzling Painting

**Chapter 23: The Puzzling Painting**

Saturday, March 28

The week passed by without much incident. I took care of the town and gathered up money to buy furnishings for my guest bedroom, and the rest of my house. Of the clubs I'd joined, Simply Strolls and Curious Baker had accepted me; I hadn't heard back from Club of Pages yet. Verdant was now living up to its name, with the trees full of light green leaves and the ground covered in soft short grass. Dandelions and clovers appeared, but they were so pretty that I let them be. Here, dandelions weren't considered weeds, or at least as bad of a weed. There were now lilypads in the pond, which Puddles said would attract frogs and dragonflies later on in the year.

In the evening, I brought white chocolate cupcakes with raspberry frosting to the town party, from a recipe that had been in the booklet the Curious Baker Club had sent me. It was a good group there, with all of the residents although only Copper, Sable, Mabel, and Helen of the workers showed up. Brewster had some drinks in honor for spring available, light and fresh like white tea, flower teas, and berry juices.

Dora came to me in the early part of the party. "I got an invitation to the Simply Strolls Club; they said you recommended me. Thanks, it seems like a nice group."

I nodded you her. "Yeah, you're welcome. I found it as a bit of a happy accident, and I thought you might like to join too."

She smiled. "I hadn't heard of them before, but yeah, it seems great. Their newsletter talked about so many things that it'd be hard to get bored of them, but it's all related to taking nice walks. Did you see the one about different pathways?"

"That was nice," I agreed. "We've still just got dirt paths because I liked the natural feel and haven't bothered to change them. But they had some other good natural examples, like wood chips or loosely imbedded rocks. But I still want the enrichment fund to focus on the library."

"I think an upgrade to the paths, even a small one, would be good to do before then," Pecan said from nearby. "You mean to have a big festival and it would be better if everyone had good paths to follow. Or decent lighting."

Copper paid for the usual two coffees he left with, then added, "As long as they're safe to walk on as well as attractive. And did I hear right, that you both are now in Simply Strolls?"

I nodded. "Yes. Are you in it?" The workers often lived for their jobs, at least it seemed that way. But they had to have hobbies too.

As I thought, he did. "Right! I may not get many chances for a walk purely for fun, but I enjoy it even when it comes with the job. I also belong to an aerobics club, to keep in shape."

"But you seem so far in shape that it'd be hard to fall out of shape," Dora said.

Copper laughed heartily at that. I did too, as it was pretty funny. "Oh no, you've got to keep on top of fitness at all times, such as with safety. Well, have plenty of good safe strolls." He then left the cafe, heading back to his duty.

"Hard to believe there's a club for something as lazy as strolling," Pecan said.

"Hey, a good walk is relaxing, and good for keeping in shape," Dora said. "I mean, it's not as great as other exercise routines at getting strong, but as long as you're not looking to get buff, it's good." Then she squeaked and put her paw to her mouth. "Oh, sorry squeaky. I didn't mean to be rude."

Pecan smirked. "A little rudeness is good to temper the sweetness that inundates this realm. I mean seriously, there are times when I want to gag, but I have to keep a straight face." The chipmunk shook her head, but then looked over at me. "And Nadia, I've been thinking... I think I could use your help with something. You're smart enough, or should be."

"Sure, what's the problem?" I asked, letting that half-insult slide by.

She flicked her tail, then pulled out an item leaf. "You remember that painting that was in my house? It said it was like a Dali or something? Well there's something odd about it and I've spent the last couple of weeks trying to figure out what's going on with it."

"It's a surrealist painting, so it's supposed to be odd," I said.

"Well yes. But there's something more than that." She flicked her wrist, turning it into a painting on an easel. Next to me at the bar, Dora leaned closer to get a good look too. "At first I only got glimpses of it, when walking by at certain angles. But then I figured out how to make it change. There's this painting of melting clocks, but if you find this hidden switch on the frame," she touched the right side and pulled out a piece of the wood. When she twisted it around and set it back in, the picture had changed entirely. It was now a gray background with an ivy pattern around the edges. At the top, there were four empty rectangles. In the middle, there was a collection of playing cards.

"It looks like a game now," Dora said.

Pecan nodded and reached over to touch the painting. When she slid her hand across, the cards moved. "It is. I haven't been able to figure it out, though. I tried sorting the cards and seeing if it would start a game, but that doesn't work. After a while, they get scattered again."

Seeing her move the cards, I could see what might be going wrong. I didn't want to give her the answer straight out though, and that gave me an idea. "Huh, that's a puzzle. Hey, why don't we ask everyone to help out on this?"

Pecan lowered her small ears, not liking that suggested. "Do we have to make a community project out of this?"

"Why not? It'll get solved faster." And my job as anchor was to unite the community and bring everyone together. Even a snobby member of the community like Pecan who tried to avoid anyone who didn't come up to her level of expectations.

She sniffed, but then Dora said, "I think it sounds like a great idea."

"As long as the painting stays in my possession," Pecan stated. "Fine."

"It'll work out," I told her, setting my tea on the counter and getting off the stool. "Hey, everyone! Pecan's brought us a puzzle she's trying to solve, so let's see if we can work it out together."

A few weren't sure about helping, but enough seemed interested that it wasn't a total loss. I had Pecan turn the painting around so that everyone could see the card puzzle. Before long, Fang had the first part of it. "It looks like a set-up to play Solitaire."

"I may be solitary, but I don't play it," Pecan said indifferently.

The wolf rolled his eyes. "No, the point of the game is to sort the cards. But they have to be flipped and set into certain piles, then sorted according to rules."

Pecan shrugged. "I figured out how to flip them all, or one at a time, by tapping the picture. But how are you supposed to sort things you can't see?"

"I can do card tricks, but not so much a card game like that," Snake said.

For once, Goose was of the same opinion. "Card games just aren't active enough to keep my attention."

Dora got off her stool and came closer. "I noticed before you turned it, and... yeah, I don't think all the cards are there. I don't see a seven of spades."

"There's an extra three of hearts," Fang said. "And an extra five of spades."

"Hey, maybe you need to draw on it and make those cards into the missing ones," Puddles said.

Pecan shook her hands and head. "Wait, no. You don't go marking on a painting. That'll ruin its value."

The frog shrugged. "Well it's not a painting if you can play a game on it."

"If it's a Solitaire puzzle, you can't solve it if you have the wrong cards in the mix," I said. "If you want to see what happens, we'll have to try altering the cards."

"The five of hearts is what's missing too," Puddles said, pointing it out, then finding out how to move one of the three of hearts aside. "Do we have a black and a red pen around?"

"Coo, I have some," Brewster said, heading over to find them.

Pecan sighed. "Well, the puzzle would simply keep bothering me. All right, but I hope it does not mar the painting on the other side."

Puddles was confident that she could make the cards right, so she took the pens and fixed the two cards. We checked the rest to make sure there weren't any others mislabeled as well, then Pecan tapped the painting to make all the cards flip and shuffle into six piles. At first, Fang tried to instruct her how to play, but they ended up letting him solve the round of Solitaire. With the right cards, I'm sure it wasn't hard.

Once the cards were in the right suites, the picture began to glow. Fang backed off, right before someone got thrown out of the painting and onto the floor. He reminded me a little of Queenie, as he had a similar body structure with long legs and a long neck. However, he had a tail of long peacock feathers, mostly dark metallic green but with some other colors in his pattern. His body seemed to be covered in short green feathers, but he wore a classy blue jacket, trim black pants, black shoes that were unevenly polished, and a small black hat that had some of his feathers attached to it. The disarray of his feathers and the dazed look in his eyes suggested that he wasn't in the best of condition there.

"Pierre!" Pecan and Dora both called out, going over to the peacock's side.

"Huh? What're you girls doing here?" he asked, looking around and noticing us for the first time.

"Oh my gosh, that's Pierre?" Puddles asked, leaning closer but thankfully not getting in the way.

"Whoa, careful there," Goose said, putting a wing to his chin. "He looks kinda lost."

Glad to have the two guys who loved to run there, I slipped around the group and went to them. "Goose, go to the city hall quick and tell Tortimer that Pierre's shown up," I glanced over and saw him putting his wings at the sides of his head. "And that he's hurt," I added quietly.

"Right away," the rooster said, bolting up the stairs.

Then, "Snake, go let Copper and Booker know at the police station. They might want to check out the painting."

"Got ya," the rabbit said, then hurried away as well.

Then I went over to see how they were handling Pierre. He had managed to get back on his feet, trying hastily to smooth down his tail feathers. "Really, it's not like we haven't seen each other in weeks. I did get caught up in a task, so sorry if I made you worry."

"Worry?" Pecan said, mad in a way that was in concern for him. "You took off without warning and then..."

"Um, I don't know if we should say it," Dora said, worried in a quieter fashion. "What have you been doing?"

"I was offered something in exchange for solving some card puzzle," he said, checking over his jacket. "What kind of storm was that anyhow? It got me in such a mess but it's only been a few hours. What time...?" He looked at his watch, squinted, then tapped it. "And it must be broke. Go figure."

"It has been weeks," Pecan said sharply. "Six or seven, something like that. What kind of puzzle takes that long?"

Pierre shook his head. "That's nonsense. The town is alright. The town..." He grimaced in pain.

"What season is it?" I asked him, wondering how aware he was.

"Summer," he said automatically, then shook his head. Dazed, he asked, "What're you girls doing here? This place? Huh."

Fortunately, both Goose and Pete were quick enough that it only took ten minutes for the mail pelican to arrive. I spoke with him while the other villagers were trying to talk with Pierre. "Tortimer has a message for you," Pete said. "He's going to call Chime City and arrange for them to take him to the hospital there. But you should take him to your house until the train can get here. The painting should be turned into the police for examination."

I nodded. "Okay, we'll need to talk with Pecan about the painting." She acted reluctant to give it up, but the chance that there was still something dangerous was too much for anyone to ignore. Then I had to get Pierre's attention to bring him back to my place. Given how the two girls and others spoke of Sweetvale, I asked him, "Pierre, would you like to come see my home?"

"You need some help with the HRA...?" He looked at me, puzzled. "Hmm? Are you a new villager? I didn't think there were any open slots."

"I'm fairly new," I said. "It would really help, thank you."

With that, he agreed to come with me to my home. Pecan and Dora followed; I let them since they had come from his town, but I felt it should only be them. Pierre still insisted that it was summer despite noticing the spring leaves on the trees. Since my house and the museum were on the same level, it didn't take long for us to reach there.

"You have two floors?" Pierre asked, looking at the front of my house. At this point, the outside looked like a log cabin. White flower boxes sat underneath the windows; I had moved the carnations there, a mix of white, red, and yellow. The roof and the trim along the doors and windows were dark green, while the river stones made up the front patio and a circular window was set into the door. Eventually I was going to look for a better door, I thought again. The elegant metal lantern by the door was on as night was growing.

"Welcome," the gyroid said. "Please come in."

"He worked with the HRA at times, so you might be in for something harsh," Pecan whispered to me after Pierre went into the house.

"It's fine," I said. "He would have some good insight then."

Inside, Pierre looked over the furniture I had on the first floor. I had several pieces of the Classic set now: the couch, the buffet table, the side table, a lamp, a drawer, the closet, and a clock. Other pieces were filling out the set, like the TV Bob gave me and the phonograph, while I kept the White Pansy model in my kitchen. Over in back, the Ranch Table and a few matching chairs made up the dining area.

"You'll be wanting to finish the Classic set," Pierre said, pacing around the room. "Definitely get the wallpaper and flooring. The hutch can be difficult to find, since it doesn't show up in stock for most stores. You've got a warm feeling going, but the TV model is clashes due to being cool and would be better replaced. A meditative gyroid would be a good addition, as well as filling out the bookshelf here... hmm?" He went over to the bookshelf and took out one of the books.

"I'd like to have lots of books here," I told him, going over to him. "Something you want to read?"

It was my guidebook to being an anchor in Animal Crossing. "What are you doing with this book? It doesn't look like mine." He opened it up to the title page and stared at it. "Verdant? But... we're in Sweetvale, right? Sweetvale. What happened to Sweetvale?!"

"Hey," I said, taking hold of his wing. Pierre was shaking. Pecan was soon by us too, Dora hanging back uncertain.

"Sorry, I'm not sure what's come over me," he said, trying to remain cool. "I feel disconnected somehow, but I didn't think... is this yours, miss?"

I nodded. "Yes, it's mine. You're in my town, Verdant."

"What happened to Sweetvale?" He had his tail feathers folded up now, and even the feathers on his hat seemed to droop.

"It got taken by the mists in the middle of the night's storm," Pecan said.

"I was asleep when it happened," Dora said. "Many of us woke up to find everything gone."

"What happened to you?" I asked, hoping that talking it out might help. Still, I could imagine how he felt. My connection to Verdant was always there and most of the time I didn't notice anything. But the few times I consciously felt it told me that being totally disconnected would feel like having a hole in my heart. "Come over here and sit down if you need to."

"Ah, all right," he said, letting me led him to the couch. Since he didn't reply right away, I went to the kitchen to get him a glass of water. Pierre started talking as I was walking back with it. "I was having trouble telling how much time was passing, but it didn't feel that long. The sky stayed so stormy. But, I think it started with that dress."

"A dress?" Dora asked, puzzled.

"Was it Kitt's dress?" Pecan asked.

Pierre nodded. "Yes, the Valkyrie Dress. She'd bought it at Oceania City and was really proud to have it. Apparently it's a unique item, with only one in existence so far. She came to me to ask if I could make a matching pair of boots for it. Since it seemed like an interesting task, I agreed to it. But then she had the worst luck, starting the day that she had bought it. All sorts of things. Like you Pecan; you and her were good friends before that, but then you started arguing."

"I don't recall how that got started," Pecan said, flicking her wide tail defensively. "But it was sudden."

Dora put a paw to her cheek. "Oh, and her house caught on fire when lightning struck it. I had thought that was the scariest thing I'd seen."

"I've run Sweetvale for over twenty years and I haven't seen lightning do that much damage before," Pierre said. "The day after that, I found the dress in the town's recycling bin. I hadn't finished the boots yet, so I took it back for a reference. At the time, it seemed like a good idea. Making a unique pair of boots for a unique dress would be an achievement for me. But then I got struck with bad luck Kitt saw the dress in my house and told me that it was cursed. I wasn't immediately convinced that was the cause, even though things were happening to me, like a beetle that stole my house key."

"That is rather improbable," I said.

He nodded. "But I still wanted to finish the boots, so I dealt with it. And within ten minutes of when I finished them, I had someone knock on my door. I thought it was strange because of the late hour, and how he was a mantis; said his name was Loki."

"Oh, he's trouble," Dora said. "He caused a blizzard here in March."

"I didn't recognize that until too late," Pierre said regretfully. "I should have, since he arrived with that unexpected storm. He offered me a trade, the dress for an unusual painting of melting clocks. Thinking that I could offer it to the museum, I told him that I could trade the dress and boots together. But he didn't want to boots, calling them worthless. I got angry and told him that I'd find someone else who'd take the pair from me. In response, he threw me into the painting, leaving me in a strange rocky landscape with those melting clocks. Loki appeared there and threw a deck of cards at me, telling me that if the puzzle was solved, I would be released. I didn't want to leave Sweetvale for long, so I tried my best. But in the end, I couldn't solve it; it solved itself somehow."

"The people here solved it," Pecan said. "The painting ended up in my house."

"I can't believe that this happened," Pierre said, putting his head in his wings. I heard the train whistle outside and it wasn't long after that a doctor from the city came to look after him.

* * *

Wednesday, April 1

It was April Fools Day, but despite requests otherwise, Tortimer and I decided that we wanted it to be low key this year. No pitfall seeds or other physical pranks, although tall tales and jokes were fine. Mostly it was because of Pecan and Dora. While they both were doing well, their exposure to the mists still required us to be mindful of them for a while longer.

In the early afternoon, Pete tracked me down and said that Pierre was going to be stopping by for a little while. I went over to meet the train. Unlike usual trains, which stopped to pick up or drop off passengers only, the crew for this one got off the train as well. "Hey, we're gonna bug you guys for just a little bit," Rover said through one of the windows. "Twenty minutes tops, for a coffee break."

"You're always welcome to visit," I told him as the few passengers got off to stretch. Further down the train, I saw Pierre come off with Pecan; she had been visiting him often, so that didn't surprise me. "Hey, if any of you wanted the coffee, we've got a great coffeeshop in the basement of the museum," I told the people there. "It's over to the west a short walk, just follow the path there."

"It's totally worth it, mya!" Rover called out before going back on a check.

I waited a moment for the various animals to clear out of the station before heading over to Pierre and Pecan. But one of them, a yellow elephant wearing a green striped dress approached me. "So you're the anchor here, hmm?" she asked, sounding weary as if she'd been having a bad day.

I smiled for her. "Yes, I'm Nadia. Did you need something?"

"I might, toot," she said, shrugging and brushing her brown hair out of her eyes. "I might leave on this train, or the next. Or I might stay. My name is Eloise and I've been looking for a nice quiet place to settle down for a while."

"Nice to meet you, Eloise," I said. Then I waved to the town. "Go ahead and look around. We're quiet around here, most days. Are you looking for anything in particular?"

"Maybe. A coffeeshop, huh?"

I nodded. "Yes, run by the master brewer Brewster. He's really good at it. And we have a town party there every Saturday."

"I'll look around then. Thanks." She then headed off to look around town.

Now that the rest had moved on, I went over to where Pierre and Pecan were. "Good afternoon. How are you doing now?"

"I'm fine, for the most part," Pierre said, bowing his head to me. "I wasn't actually in the mists, but the disconnect was pretty bad. Thankfully they're letting me restart Sweetvale as its anchor; I was afraid for a while that they wouldn't allow it."

"But they're making him start over, no worse than that," Pecan said, holding her tail in an agitated manner. "They're making him live in a tent for a week at the start, plus it's probably going to be December because that seems to be the traditional thing."

Pierre didn't seem as bothered. "That could be rough, but I'll just have to make sure that I have a house by the time winter officially starts."

"That shouldn't be hard," I said, recalling how my house had grown.

"Still seems harsh to me," Pecan said. "Well then, Nadia, it's been nice staying here, really, but I want to help with re-establishing Sweetvale. I've even got permission from the doctor, after I bugged them about it for an hour. So I'm going to go pack up here real quick."

"That's sweet of you to help out like that," I told her. "It's been good knowing you."

"Thanks. I'll be back in a few." She then headed down the stairs and hurried off to her house.

"I've got a few of my old residents who are coming back, like her," Pierre said. "I was really grateful when I heard that they'd all been located. Say, I've heard that there's some kind of unusual tree around here. Would you mind showing me it?"

I nodded and headed down the station's steps. "Sure thing. Just come down here and look up, over there."

"Really?" He followed me and looked over where I had pointed. Like most everyone seeing Yggdrasil for the first time, his eyes went wide in surprise. Then he put his wing over his eyes to try looking at it better. "How high does it goes?"

"Up to the highest heavens, down to the lowest parts of hell."

"Seriously?"

I shrugged. "If the mythology is true, yes. You want to walk to its hill? We should have time."

"Yes, that'd be great."

A few people were still in the opening below the train station, but others had already gone on to the coffeeshop. Pierre and I walked along that path, seeing Rodeo's rose gardens scattered around his house and the museum. We spotted the bull sleeping in his garden again; he really loves those flowers, probably didn't even notice the visitors walking by. Along the way, we talked a little. Pierre was calmer than before, but sometimes I saw glimpses of the guilt he had over losing his town.

At the base of the hill, we found Dora on one of her walks, carrying a lace parasol. "Oh, Nadia, I was hoping to see you," she said, happy. "And Pierre too. Are you feeling better now?"

He nodded. "I'm fine; we're taking a break here before I go back to start Sweetvale over again. How are you doing?"

"I'm doing good, squeaky," she said, shifting her parasol so she could show off a green clover she was wearing by her left ear. "Really good, actually, see? I found a four-leaf clover this morning! So I'm bound to find a lot more good luck now."

"That's great," I said. "It looks nice on you."

"Thanks," she said shyly.

"You've been looking for one a long time, haven't you?" Pierre asked. "It's great that your persistence paid off."

"Sure!. Um..." she nervously glanced aside, then looked back up at us. "I, I think I want to stay here in Verdant. Nadia's been really nice to me, even letting me stay in her house when I was scared to be alone. Plus, we're going to have a big Flower Festival later this spring, and I have all sorts of things I want to do to make it great."

"Where ever suits you best, that's where you should stay," Pierre said, offering to shake her paw. "It was wonderful knowing you; you have a lot of potential to do great things, if you have confidence in yourself."

"Oh, um, I dunno about that," she said, shaking his wing. "But, thanks. I'm sure you can make Sweetvale great again."

"We'll try. Pecan is moving back with me, along with several others."

"Is she? Oh, I want to say goodbye to her. I don't know if she considers me a friend, but I'll miss her. Excuse me." She headed off, then turned to wave to us before leaving our sight.

"A big festival, huh?" Pierre asked me. "That's a little unusual for a first year town."

"It was her idea, actually," I said. "But I thought it was great. We want to get a separate library, that's why."

We started up the hill. "Well between this tree and all those roses along the way, it should be quite a sight," Pierre said, approving of the idea. "Although this place will also be a lovely one next week, given the buds that are on the fruit trees. They only bloom for one week out of the year and I saw a number of them."

"Next week, huh? I'll be looking forward to that." They were mostly apple trees that I had been spreading out to fill in empty places, but there were many in the whole town.

"You'll know for certain it will be the next day if your mayor asks for decorations to be put up." Pierre hopped up onto one of the exposed roots and looked around at the town. "You know, I had Sweetvale built up a lot. Paved walks, lamps all over, benches near cultivated gardens, three large fountains... I thought that civilized look was best. Before this all, I would have thought this place was much too wild. But it's got its own charms."

I laughed a little. "Some others have told me similar things. I think it's because I lived in towns and cities in my past life. Returning to nature was a dream for me, a desire for peace. But for the rest of you, you may have lived in much wilder places before. You want towns and cities because of how you've progressed."

"That could be," he said. "I don't know how I'll go this time around." He looked around us, then sat down on the branch. I decided to sit near him, as it seemed he wanted to talk. For a moment he hesitated on it, then quietly said, "I wouldn't want to say this to just anybody. The angels for certain, or another anchor. But, I think what happened got me to realize my remaining weaknesses far faster than anything else would have. I wish my mistakes hadn't hurt my villagers, but if it hadn't, I would have taken longer to accept that it was my fault."

"It is pretty easy to keep yourself so busy that you don't get to think about it," I said.

He nodded. "That too. I thought too highly of myself, and wouldn't accept criticism. But I should have known I wasn't done. You be careful too. And here; I've had the feeling that you're going to need these someday." He took an item out of his bag, some kind of shoes.

Its tag marked it as unique. "The Valkyrie Boots? Are you sure about that?"

He nodded. "I made them so they can only be used by females. The only way they're useful to me is as a reminder, and I have other things for that. But while those stayed with me, I don't know what happened to the dress. It wasn't among the items I was allowed to recover. I did get the boots checked out, so they're definitely not cursed. Why you'd need it, I'm not sure; it was a quiet voice in my thoughts, maybe even an angel's whisper."

"I've seen the dress before I heard it was cursed, but I didn't consider buying it at the time," I said. "Thank you for the boots; I'll see what they do for me."

"At the very least, you'll have footwear for a special occasion," Pierre said. "And thank you for watching over Pecan and Dora. In a short time, you've made a wonderful impression on them. I knew I could speak freely with you, from what they told me."

After spending a few more minutes chatting, we headed back to the train station. The passengers had started gathering back there, including Pecan who was speaking with Dora. Once they spotted us, the brown chipmunk waved me over. "I suppose this is goodbye, for now," she said. "But I wanted to leave a token of my appreciation for what you and your town have done for us, so I left a modest donation with the enrichment fund."

"Modest?" Dora asked. "You left two hundred fifty thousand bells!"

That would more than double the amount of funds we had in it now, after buying the water lilies earlier. "Wow, thank you so much," I told her, surprised that she'd do so. Maybe she really did care.

Even so, she sniffed at my gratitude. "It's nothing. But I did leave one condition for it's use. You had better install lighting along the main paths in town for those of us who might want to get around after dark. I don't care what it is, just something. I was going to ask for paths, but Dora talked me out of that."

"I'll discuss that with Tortimer," I said. It might be enough for a few little improvements like that before the festival.

* * *

_Bit of a long chapter here, but I felt it worthwhile to keep it together. And we finally get to meet Pierre. As I'm talking with those who have the game, Pierre seems, to me anyhow, like he'd fit nicely into the new Snob archetype. I always intended for him to be like this, so it's a nice surprise. We might see him again, at least hear from him in a letter or two.  
_


	25. Town Improvements

**Chapter 25: Town Improvements**

Thursday, April 2

As I came downstairs that morning, I heard my gyroid calling to me. "There's some early mail for you," it said.

I opened the door to get to the mailbox; it currently looked like a little birdhouse. "Thanks for letting me know," I said as I took the letters.

"It's my duty."

The regular mail was delivered at nine in the morning and five in the afternoon, so anything that came at another time was special. There were three letters for me: one from Mitchel, one from Tortimer, and one from the Chime City Real Estate Group. Heading back in, I left them on the table while I got something for breakfast. Pancakes were sounding good, so I got the mix and made a few.

I read Mitchel's first, wondering how he was doing. It was dated from the first.

'Dear Nadia,

I had a unusual day today. Apparently I've been under more stress than I thought, since I snapped at one of my co-workers for a rather harmless prank. Because of that, I took half the day off and went to visit the state park before the kids came home from school. I'm not sure what I was looking for exactly, maybe just a change of pace. I kept wondering what I should be doing with my life now. At times, I wondered what you would say, which made me sad again. But I need to be strong. I have a responsibility to take care of our kids and to do well at work. Maybe sometime in the future, I can take off to find God, or something like that.

I did find the first tick of the season. Or rather, it found me and now I'm itchy. But don't worry about me, Nadia. I won't let you down, not through big or little problems.

'Love, Mitchel'

For a moment, I wondered if there were ticks here. Puddles would know, so I put that out of my mind and put the letter with the others I kept from Mitchell. I'm sure that he can handle things. Then I checked on the note from Tortimer.

'To Nadia-

Hey there sprout. Would you meet me by the train station at nine o'clock this morning? As you've surely heard, Miss Pecan left a generation donation to the town's funds provided that we use at least a portion of this for outdoors lighting. I could handle this myself, but I'm afraid I'm no good at decorating (unless you don't mind everything being about my favorite tortoise shell patterns). We'll be meeting with the Town Planner from Chime City, since she's in charge of upgrades like this. I hope to see you there.

From Tortimer'

A town planner. They did have a lot of animals working in the background, it seemed. Perhaps this animal helped with establishing new towns, or checked over them before others moved in. I hoped she wouldn't mind questions. Finally, I checked on the Real Estate letter. Maybe it had something to do with the town planner? I thought that could be, but it wasn't. There was the letter and a postcard inside the envelope.

'To the anchor of Verdant Town:

This is a notice that a family of four has requested to move into your town, including two children. Given that this is a multi-person household, they will require a larger building and a few special accommodations. Please consider if you would like to add this type of residency to your town and mail the postcard with your response as soon as possible. Ask the mayor if you have any questions.

From CCREG'

Children? I remember hearing something like that a little while ago, but I couldn't remember who I'd heard it from. The villagers living on their own didn't seem to need permission to move in or out, and I didn't recall Monique and Bob having any issues like that. Then again, they lived in separate houses and I had seen evidence that there were married couples in Animal Crossing.

Once I had prepared for the day, I left my home, taking an umbrella as the sky looked cloudy. It was around seven when I got to the town hall, so Pelly, Phyllis, and Pete were all there, near the counter. "Nnngh, no, I was up late," Pete said, rubbing his eyes. "That new girl in town wanted all of her furniture delivered even though she moved in after dark. Isn't that right, Phyllis?"

She had her wings crossed in front of her chest. "Well you did stumble into the flight door after midnight." She then muttered something that I couldn't understand, but it sounded a little mischievous.

"Wow, you are a hard worker," Pelly said cheerfully before she came to the desk. "Good morning, Nadia! Did you need something?"

I smiled. "Good morning. Is Tortimer in his office? I wanted to talk with him."

"Sure, he just came out for coffee a little bit ago. I'll let you in." She lifted up the counter flap that blocked the way into the office so I could come through.

There were four apartments in the town hall: one upstairs for Pete, another upstairs for Pelly and Phyllis, a third upstairs for Helen, and the last on ground level for Tortimer. His office was the front part of it, decorated with many photos of towns and people that Tortimer had known. Other than those, there was a large fern in one corner, a few chairs, a large desk, and a few filing cabinets.

Tortimer was sitting in a blue armchair behind the desk. "Oh, good morning Nadia!" he said, smiling and waving me to another armchair in the office. "This is a nice surprise; I wasn't expecting to see you until later."

"Good morning," I said, sitting down across from him. "I'll be there for that, but there was another piece of mail I wanted to ask you about. There was a notice from a real estate group about a family that wanted to move into Verdant."

He nodded. "Oh yes, I got one of those too. There aren't many family groups around, but I don't mind them myself. Some animals get easily annoyed by the children, but I love seeing them play around town. They'll need permission from the both of us to move in."

"I see. So what are the special accommodations they need?"

He rubbed his beard in thought for a moment. "Most of them we don't need to worry about, such as needing a certain level of physician and psychologist around. Those people will be in Chime City and our town wouldn't have come up as a possibility for them if we didn't meet the requirements. Since they have children, they also need a librarian in town how can handle getting books and some materials for their educations. Oh, and if you decide to let them in, you should let Helen know."

"Right, she'd want to know before they arrived."

"Sable and Mabel should be told as well," Tortimer said. "Some animals don't mind mending clothes, but it'd be good if they knew ahead of time."

"Yeah, kids can be rough on clothes," I said. I wasn't sure if the kids here would grow as quickly as human children did, but even normal play could ruin clothes. "I hope you don't mind me asking, but would these be the couples' kids or something else?"

He laughed. "Hoorf, well I will say that you're one of the very few who would ask that particular question in this realm. They're adopted. In particular, the souls who arrive here as children are those who were rescued from the mists with a low level of identity. There's a few reasons they end up like that. They may have truly been pups, cubs, kits, or what have you, when they died; a few of them end up here, although most end up back in the regular cycle of life. Or, they may have been in the mist for an unhealthy amount of time, losing their memories and sense of self over time."

"Then either way, they would need to be watched over more closely," I said.

"Right. Most married couples are eligible to adopt kids, as well as a few single animals that have proven their worth and don't have other responsibilities. You'll have to be a bit more mindful with kids in town, but there's nothing different you need to do."

"All right. Well then I don't see any reason to refuse them. I'll go talk to Helen and the girls at the Tailor shop, then I'll be by to meet the town planner with you."

"Good," Tortimer said in approval. "Don't work yourself too hard now. You might not have noticed, but I've been watching how you've been doing. Take a day or two to relax around town. It'll do you good."

"I'll keep that in mind," I said, smiling as I got out fo the chair. "Maybe next week when the trees are blooming."

"Yes, that would be perfect. Well, see you in a little while, sprout!"

I came back into the main room of town hall to find Phyllis complaining about the other two making her stay up longer than she wanted. While I was there, I filled out the postcard for the real estate group to get mailed out. This got Pete to start checking over the morning mail deliveries so that Phyllis could slip upstairs to rest. Helen was doing some cleaning before she opened up the library, but she invited me in when I knocked.

"I've started getting regular mail to lend books to people in nearby towns," she told me. "Some of the books I have to ask for from the Chime City library, but I'm hoping that these people will support the main fundraiser later on."

"I hope they do too," I said. "I might get a book or two later, but for now, I wanted to tell you that we're expecting a family with kids to move in sometime in the future."

Thankfully, our lizard librarian seemed happy with that. "That's wonderful. I'll work a learning schedule out with their parents, but maybe I should ask for a few children's book in our rotation now. We'll have to arrange for somewhere else for lessons, though, since this library is small."

"What about the museum?" I suggested. "Or they could use their home, I don't know. We'll figure it out when they get here."

"Right. But thanks for letting me know."

As I went to leave town hall, I noticed some streaks of rain across the windows. It was only drizzling so far, so I didn't bother to get my umbrella as I walked towards the tailor shop. It was a refreshing air, actually, and one could smell the rain strongly in the air. Perhaps it would be heavier later on.

I came across a new house, where Deena had once lived. Outside, I saw Eloise from the day before, working on what appeared to be an herb garden at the side of her home. "Good morning!" I called over to her. "I see that you decided to stay."

"Ah, good morning," Eloise said, looking up and waving back. "Yes, this seemed like a good place to stay, at least for a little while. But the environment of this town could use some more sprucing up, even if the intent is to stay natural, as it seems."

"We're working on it," I said. "Do you like gardening too? We're planning on having a big flower festival later on, so we need more flowers."

She shrugged. "I prefer growing herbs and vegetables, but we'll see."

She seemed set on working on her garden, so I said goodbye and headed over to the tailor shop. Inside, it was unusually quiet because the sewing machine wasn't running. Neither of the two hedgehog sisters seemed to be in there. For a moment, I was worried. The homes usually locked up if the inhabitants were there, so I assumed the stores did the same. "Hello?" I called, staying by the door.

"Oh, sorry!" Sable called from the door in back. She came into the store, carrying a bundle of clothing leaves. "I thought that it was going to be quiet this morning, so I was checking on our inventory."

"That's fine," I said, nodding. "Mable helping you?"

She shook her head. "Not at the moment. You might've noticed, but our door chime broke, so I sent her to town hall to fill out a repair form. I'm really sorry; I should've figured that would make it a bad time to be in back."

"I don't mind," I said. Then I told her about the possible family moving in.

Hearing that, she smiled. "It'll be no trouble to me," she said. "It might be more work keeping up with the kids, but that's fine; I'll just need to cut down on the out of town work. It'll be like old times."

"Yeah, you did say that you and your sisters grew up here in Animal Crossing," I recalled.

She nodded. "Yes. It happens with a lot of us kids that we end up as shop and city workers. Animal Crossing is our home realm and we don't have the same goals as the others. Although sometimes I wonder about things like that." She put a paw to her chin.

"What about it?" I asked.

She set the clothing bundle down to figure out which pieces to display while we talked. "We had wonderful parents, you see. I had the clearest mind when we arrived, so that I was unofficially the oldest even though all three of us were found together. On the other paw, Mabel arrived in pretty bad shape, to the point where she doesn't remember much of our first couple of years in Animal Crossing. That means that she doesn't remember much of our parents either, because right about at the start of our third year, our parents both passed their trials and were able to ascend to heaven."

"Then it was a good thing for them, but maybe a bad thing for you three," I said. "Did it make you sad or happy?"

"Both, at different times," Sable said. "They stayed for a little while, but when people make it to that point, well, you can really see the change in them. It's... well, they don't quite fit in, but they do... oh, you remember that fellow that showed up at Christmas? K.K., I think."

I nodded. "Yeah, K. K. Slider. I had been thinking about him."

She snapped her fingers. "Yes, that's him. I think he's one who can ascend whenever he chooses, because he has that same kind of, how do you put it? Purity, I suppose. My parents were like that: nothing bothered them and they were genuinely happy to be doing what they were. After a while, I told that that I would take care of Labelle and Mabel. I had been accepted as a mature animal a few months before that and I felt like they deserved to move on. Father asked if I was really sure I wanted to do that, and when I said that I did, he surprised me by saying that he wasn't worried about us because he believed in me."

"Well Mabel's so kind and friendly that you must've done well," I told her.

Blushing a little, she said, "Thanks; I'm always glad to see her happy. I think it'll be interesting having some kids around, after I had to raise my sisters. Thanks for letting me know. Did you come for anything else?"

Not really, but now that I was here, I glanced over at where the hats and accessories were. "Now that you mention it, I've been thinking about getting a hat again. The sun doesn't seem too bright most days, but it would be nice."

"It can get bright during the summer," Sable said. "I don't make most of the hats here, but there's a few you can try on. Here, I'm sure I saw a nice straw hat earlier."

We couldn't find it, even when she searched in the storage drawers. But then Mabel came back in from her errand. When we asked her about the hat, she said that it had been in the shop for three days, so she had sent it along to the next clothing store as part of the rotating inventory. They said they'd let me know when it came back in, so it wasn't too much of a disappointment. Besides, I wasn't even sure what it looked like. A straw hat could be many styles.

Checking my watch after I left, it was only 8:30. I started my usual walk around town, looking for weeds and new flowers, but only got a part of that chore done by the time I needed to head back up to the train station. It was actually raining by that point, with the sky a light gray from overcast clouds. Concerned about the old tortoise, I checked in with the town hall to find that he'd left a few minutes prior so that he didn't need to hurry. I walked along the main path, over the bridge and up the ramp, finding him not too far from the open meadow in front of the station. He seemed to be in good spirits, so it was fine.

The train pulled in promptly at 9:00, letting off a yellow dog in a blue dress. She pulled out a pink umbrella with daisies on it before coming down to meet us. "Good thing I checked the weather first," she said. "Hello, Tortimer! It's been a while."

"Sure has, sprout," he said, shaking her paw. "I brought the anchor Nadia along for this. Nadia, this is Isabelle. I watched her come in as a new soul in the last town I watched over; she worked wonders to get where she is."

"Oh please, you're embarrassing me," Isabelle said, blushing. "I just like seeing problems solved. But anyhow, good to meet you, Nadia."

"Good to meet you too," I said, accepting her pawshake.

"This place seems like it hasn't changed a lot," she said, looking at the trees and breathing in deeply. "The atmosphere smells good, though. You shouldn't be too far off from having an excellent environment rating."

"I'm working on that," I said. "You've been here before?"

She nodded. "Oh yes, I did the initial inspection while you were caught in the slow time of Rover's train. You could say that I was the first person who saw it outside of your imagination. There weren't any problems, although the presence of that tree certainly made me wonder the whole time."

"I never thought of it as a problem," I said. "Although how it got here might be."

"Well there hasn't been a lot of traffic reported along the branch... oh sorry, I didn't mean to get distracted!" Isabelle smiled sheepishly. "It's just one of those memorable things, you know?"

"We understand," Tortimer said. "So do we want to discuss this out in the rain, or head over to the coffeeshop? I don't mind getting my shell wet, but I don't want you girls to get muddy if you don't want to."

"It's not bad now," I said. "But the coffeeshop would be nicer."

"Oh yes, that would be a good place to discuss business," Isabelle said. So we all headed to the museum.

Tortimer offered to buy drinks for the both of us, so Isabelle asked for a mocha and I got a cup of green tea. While Brewster was preparing that, Isabelle set up a metal ring on the floor. It was three feet across and less than an inch tall. A device like a small tablet computer was attached to it by a wire, which Isabelle was using. Once she activated it, a patch of grass appeared inside the ring.

"I can show you all the options with this display, like a picture but it shows more," she explained. "May we get the lights dimmed out here to show the lighting better?"

"Certainly," Brewster said, setting one of the drinks on the counter. Then he fiddled with something under the counter so that some lights remained in his work area but there wasn't much in the main room where we were.

"Thank you. Is there any particular aim you have for the design of Verdant?"

"Ho ho, I don't do well with design, you know that," Tortimer said cheerily. "But I believe Nadia's looking to keep things of a natural beauty."

I nodded. "That's right. I wasn't even sure about using pathways other than what develops."

"That's different, but it could be really nice done well," Isabelle said, nodding. She searched the control device, bringing up the image of a burning torch. It was quite simple: a sturdy wood rod in the ground, a containment basket, and a bright orange flame. Even if it was just a simulation, it cracked as a fire should, causing shifting patterns of light and shadow around the room. "This is a simple one, but it lights a good area around it. It's popular to use on beaches, and won't go out in the rain."

"Is it going to be safe to use around the trees?" Tortimer asked.

"As long as you don't put it right under a tree, it should be fine," Isabelle said.

"There's a lot of trees in Verdant," I pointed out. "And, I'm not sure about having something with such a broad range of light. The beach and the lake are good places to look at the stars, so I wouldn't want anything sending a lot of light upwards; it would cause the fainter stars to be hard to see."

"That's a good point," Isabelle said, changing the image. "There are some covered lights that will only illuminate the ground. Hmm, but..." she paused at one that was short and black, with a cone top. It was quite bright on the floor while sending no light to the ceiling. "Finding one that fits into a natural theme could be tough. Let me look."

"Something like that in shape would be nice, but not metal like that," I said. It worked with lighting the pathway but was still a little obtrusive. And since security was not as much of an issue as in the mortal realm, a softer light would fit in better.

"I have one that's in bamboo," Isabelle said, showing that one. It was the same basic shape: a cone top, an open cylinder for the light, and four legs. "It's usually used in towns that grow bamboo often."

Tortimer nodded. "Right, it looks very nice with bamboo clusters. But it can be costly to start up a bamboo grove, both in bells and in space."

Isabelle showed us a few more styles, eventually coming on a style that caught my eye immediately. It was a glass sphere on three wooden legs with a conical cap. Colored pink, the sphere held a light within it, making it softly glow like the crystal lamps that were in the cave under Yggdrasil. It cast a surprisingly wide area of light, of a brightness that would match the light of a full moon. "These ones come in many colors, but they have an unexpected benefit. See, they're solar powered, so they don't drain power from a town's generator to work. Some summer thunderstorms can knock out a generator temporarily, but with these, your paths will always be lit no matter what the circumstances."

"Those would be nice," I said, thinking about our blizzard earlier. Although, with all the snow the lights wouldn't have done much good. Their legs were tall enough that it should stay above normal snowfalls. "Is there one in blue? We have some blue lamps elsewhere in town."

Isabelle nodded. "Oh yes, there's several shades of blue. Let me show you."

While there were a few other lights that would have worked for what we wanted, I liked the colored globes and Tortimer agreed that the solar power would be a help on occasions. Then we had to discuss where along the paths the lights should go and how they should be spaced. Our discussion with Isabelle took almost to noon. So once we were done, I did a quick check over the town for weeds and then spent the afternoon at the beach, relaxing and fishing. After that busy morning, it was a good break.

* * *

_Sorry about dropping off suddenly; lots of stuff happened.  
_

_An interesting thing occurred in playing my Wild World town recently. I've currently got Goose and Snake (although they seem to be more friendly to each other in the game), as well as a third character who is part of this family moving in. I suppose Goose is a more common animal to get, since I've had him a lot. Snake's not quite as common to me._

_I love those glowy glass lights! But the one my family has had didn't work that well. I've seen some really nice ones that do work great, though._


	26. A Rivalry Blossoms

**Chapter 26: A Rivalry Blossoms**

Sunday, April 5

As Pierre had suggested a few days ago, Tortimer caught me early on the fifth and asked if I would get a villager or two to put up decorations in honor of the fruit trees blooming. They were full of round buds, a few flowers opening early. After a few days of rain, the sun was bright and warm, hinting at a beautiful day. I was sure that most of them would be happy to help. Definitely Fang, Puddles, or Dora. I wasn't sure if Eloise would help, as she hadn't shown up to the town party last night. However, I decided to take a bit of a chance. I sent Pete to send my requests for help to Goose and Snake.

Goose came fairly quickly, so I explained to him what needed to happen. "We've got these poles for flags and wind streamers," I said, tapping one of the poles I had lying on the ground. "But Tortimer said that the flags and streamers wouldn't go on directly like most items; we have to thread them onto the line here, and then pull the pole up to sit in the bases that can be turned from leaves into the ground."

"Huh, and they look pretty hefty for poles too," Goose said. Not only that, but the poles were twelve to twenty feet tall, not that easy for a single person to get up. "Well I'm not much of a weight lifter, but I can give you a wing in help."

"Thanks," I said, although I wondered where Snake was. Maybe he would see Goose helping me and decide not to help. I hoped not. "Okay, I'll get out some of the streamers; there's a whole bunch of them, but Tortimer said to put lots on every pole."

"Right, they look so awesome waving in the wind!"

We put a large carp streamer on the flagpole, as well as many thinner ribbon-like flags. Once the rope and flags were secure, I stood at the halfway point of the pole to lift it while Goose got the end to place in the base. The weight of it reminded me of doing yard work and other manual labor in the normal realm. Most tasks here in Animal Crossing, like digging holes and chopping trees, were easier to do thanks to the way things worked. These flagpoles, however, might just be as much work as something similar back there. Thankfully, it was for a special occasion, not something that would be done often.

"Could you back up a little?" Goose asked me, kneeling and trying to keep a good grip on his end of things. "That should get it."

"All right," I said, taking a step away. I could already feel a strain on my arm muscles even though it had only been half a minute moving this pole.

Then a good portion of the weight was taken off me. "You're going to leave this part to a lady alone?" Snake asked.

Goose frowned. "Hey, either part of this is a lot of work."

"At least I'm not doing this alone," I said with a smile. "Thanks guys."

Between the three of us, it wasn't hard to walk the pole up to stand in its base. "How many of these things do you have to put up?" Snake asked me, giving a push to the flagpole to make sure it wasn't going to move.

"Nineteen more," I said. "Are you going to help too?"

"Sure thing," he said.

Thankfully neither of them were petty enough to stop helping because the other was there. For the first few poles, though, it was an uneasy quiet. But something had to get the two of them talking, so that it wasn't always hostile when the two met. "If we had some extra rope and a pulley, this might be easier," I said as we got flags on the fourth pole.

"Nah, that's just more steps," Goose said.

"It might be more efficient," Snake said, twitching his ears. "But then it's also more efficient to stand while lifting by using your knees. Also, time when you change how much strength you put into it so that you're breathing out at the same moment."

"I'll give that a try," I said.

"That's a silly thing to believe," the rooster said.

Snake shook his head. "Nope. It keeps your body in sync. That and using your knees causes less strain than lifting with your back."

"I know about that, buh-kay," Goose said, sliding some flag ribbons down. "But watching your breathing to do stuff? That's silly."

"Not really," I said. "Breathing right keeps your blood energized, and energized blood will keep the rest of your body working right. It's probably something more in-depth than that with science, but it's basically how the body works."

Goose put his wing to his beak, thinking. "But you don't have to think about breathing most of the time. It seems like unneeded effort... oh now you have me noticing when I breathe."

"You're welcome," Snake said playfully.

"Hey!" Goose said, but there was a glint in his eyes like he was having fun.

Snake tied up the rope, now that we had enough flags on this one. "But seriously, it's a part of total body fitness. If you want to be really fit, you make sure your whole body works well together."

"I just want to be fast, so I focus on keeping my legs strong," Goose said. "Sometimes I tie sandbags to my ankles and run around that way. Make sure those muscles are big and strong!"

I tried not to laugh at that, since as a chicken, he naturally had slim legs and feet.

On the other hand, Snake wasn't impressed with the idea. "It won't help to do that, bunyip," he said. "Sure, you might make your leg muscles big, but if your heart and lungs aren't strong, then the extra leg power will be wasted. And if you let another part of your body, like your wings, get weak, then your whole body has to do extra work trying to keep things balanced. On the other paw, if you improve your whole body, it all works together better and you can do everything better."

"Including running?" Goose asked.

"Especially that," he said.

"Is that how you move around so fast, buh-kay?" he asked, curious.

Snake smiled slowly. "It is a big part of it. But not all, definitely not all."

"Sorry for interrupting, but could we get this up?" I asked, putting my hands on the middle of the pole.

"Oh yeah, gotcha," Goose said.

"Sure thing."

We got the pole up, which meant that we were a quarter of the way done. The two guys were still energetic, so we headed on to find a place to set up the next one. "How else do you move around so fast?" Goose asked as we walked along the dirt path.

"Haven't you been watching me?" Snake asked.

"Yeah, but I don't see anything out of the ordinary in what you do."

Then the rabbit raised an eyebrow. "What, you have been spying on me? That's kind of creepy."

I gave a snort of laughter at that, unable to help myself. "Wha-HEY!" Goose responded, glowering at him. "That's not what I meant. I'm trying to figure you out so I can beat you."

"But you have," Snake said. "Not always, but you have."

"Would you say that he's faster than you when you can't use ninja trickery?" I asked. He gave me a curious look, so I tried to reassure him with a smile and a nod towards Goose.

With that in mind, Snake put a hand on his chin. "Hmm... I'd have to say yes. I admit, I admire that he can run that fast with that body shape."

Goose frowned, then seemed uncertain. "Is that... a compliment or an insult?"

Snake waved a paw. "Whichever you want it to be. But maybe I have been a little unfair in this exchange, so I'll let you in on a hint." He spread his arms out in front of him. "The fastest way between two points," he clapped his hands together, "is straight. No matter what you have to do to keep going straight."

"Well yeah, but..." he sounded puzzled now. "what about the cliff, and the trees, and the buildings?"

Laughing, Snake said, "No matter what you have to do. Run straight. But in order to know any deeper than that, you'd have to become a ninja too. So what do you say? What to be my apprentice?"

"No way!" Goose said. "I'll figure it out on my own, without trickery. I'll be the best natural runner ever!" Then he made a fist with his wing and punched it in the air.

"I'll be watching," Snake said in a creepy kind of way. Then we all burst into laughter. Maybe they wouldn't be friends. But friendly rivals? We could deal with that.

* * *

Monday, April 6

The very next day, many of the flowers on the fruit trees were in bloom. White, pink, peach, and yellow, all delicate little flowers with incredible scents. Throughout the town, the colorful fish flags were full, waving in the steady breeze. Even the great Yggdrasil seemed to be in bloom, although its blossoms were so high above that it was difficult to tell other than speckles of color among its lively green leaves. It was a beautiful sight, raising my spirits.

Shortly after lunch time, I headed out to stroll around town and see if any of the others wanted help, even just someone to talk to. I wore the pink daisy dress from my first day here, since it seemed appropriate. While I was in the lower part of town, I came across Fang and Puddles at a cluster of cosmos and clover. "I'm sorry, sweet Fang, but I'm afraid that we can't continue like this for much longer," Puddles said in a melodramatic manner, keeping a paw over her heart. "We keep dragging this out, but we aren't growing any younger."

"Say what?" Fang asked, only mildly irritated.

She held her arm out to him. "If you would just dance with me, I might be convinced to try a little longer,. But my heart..."

"Good grief, no way, cha-chomp!" His ears lowered.

Then Puddles put her hands on her hips. "Aw, come on, play along with me! It'll be like the movies, but in real life!"

Fang shook his head. "No, love isn't something you play at. Love is a beautiful thing, I've seen it. But people like you who take it too frivolously make it so cheap."

"I'm not being frivolous! I'm being romantic." She stamped a foot down. "Well fine then, I won't be your girlfriend! Our love could've been a great thing, but you're being such a stuck in the mud. I'm not going to put up with that any longer! Humph, goodbye." She then ran off.

And ended up running by me. "Puddles?" I asked, wondering how she really felt.

"Oh, hiii Nadia!" she said, pausing and giving me a big smile. "Whatcha doing, splish?"

"Just walking around, I said. "What are you doing?"

She winked and put a finger by her lips. "Shh, I'm trying to make him chase me now. Haha, he can't resist." Then she ran off again.

It was hard to get her to see things seriously. In fact, I wasn't sure how well I could get her to acknowledge that fact. In the meanwhile, I walked over towards Fang, who was standing amid the cosmos and thinking. "Good afternoon, Fang."

Looking over to make sure that it wasn't Puddles, he nodded. "Afternoon, Nadia. I'm not sure how good it is... did you see that?"

"With Puddles? I think I only saw the last bit of it."

Briefly, he held his ears back again. "Every time I try to convince her to give it up, she laughs it off. And if I ignore her, she tries harder. I don't want to play around with her either, since that would just encourage her."

I nodded. "She didn't actually seem upset, but it's hard to tell with her. This might just be part of the game to her."

"Well if it means that she'll leave me alone for a while, I can deal with that part." He rubbed his head. "Nadia the swan was a bit like that, but she wasn't half as annoying as Puddles. Not even a quarter! I don't really want to move out just because of one animal, but if I can't shake her, she might drive me to that."

"I wouldn't blame you if you did," I said. "But you'd come back for the Flower Festival at least, right? And write."

He nodded. "Of course. Wouldn't miss that for anything. Anyhow, it's not like I'm seriously considering moving. But, it's there as an option."

I heard the whistle of the train, so I checked my watch. It read 1:10 PM. "I'm expecting some new residents, so that might be them," I told Fang.

"Residents, uh? I wonder if I know any of them." He grinned toothily. "Want to go meet with them?"

"Sure, if it is them." So we headed towards the ramp behind Nookway and to the station up there.

It didn't take long for us to hear a boisterous voice through the trees. Past a few trees, I recognized a large orange and black tiger that I had seen before: Rowan, one who had come visiting, probably scouting the town as a potential place to move. With him was a tall bear that seemed to be his wife: she had white and blue fur and wore a long green gingham dress with a floppy straw hat and sandals. Two young animals were with them, the taller one only coming up to her parents' waists. She was a koala with tan fur and a red luau dress; a hibiscus flower was clipped on near her right ear. The other child seemed to be a dog, but it was hard to tell under all the bandages wrapped around his body. Two dark brown floppy ears hung out of the bandages on his head; over his bandages he wore a large yellow shirt with the number '3' on it. They were standing near the map, discussing the town layout.

"Hello!" I called, waving over to the family. "Glad to see you all here."

The koala girl looked at me curiously while the dog boy (or should I think of him as a puppy?) came right up to me. "Oh, hello there," the bear said cheerfully. "You must be that human anchor."

I nodded. "Right. I'm Nadia, and this is one of the others who lives here, Fang."

Although I had worried and wondered how he would take it, Fang gave a warmer less toothy smile to the family. "Hello."

"Good to see you again," Rowan bellowed (as he had before), coming over and clasping my hand for a handshake. "And to meet a new neighbor already, great spirit champ!" He clapped Fang on the shoulder and nearly knocked him over. At that moment, I couldn't help but think it would have been a big help to have him here yesterday. He would have gotten the flagpoles up by himself in a third of the time me, Goose, and Snake had taken. "Thanks for letting us move in here. This here's my adorable wife, Bluebear."

"Good to meet you," Bluebear said, shaking my hand as well.

"Good to meet you too," I said, then gently patted the boy who had come right up to me. He took my hand and began examining it as if it was entirely new.

"That's our boy Lucky there," Rowan said. "Quiet lad, but he has a big heart. And the young lady here is Alice."

Alice stayed back a little, looking over us as if unsure about us. "Hello," she said, giving a small bow.

"Hello," I said, being friendly. "It's good to meet you all. Do you need any help with moving in today?"

"No, we should be fine," Rowan said. "Might even enjoy the blossoms for a while before getting down to work. It's a lovely day here."

"Oh, but I need to know, where's the town library?" Bluebear asked.

I pointed down to the lower level. "It's in the town hall, down this path and across the bridge. It'll be to the right once you get inside."

She nodded. "Good, good, that's convenient. Well kids, it's a little late here for it, but want to find a place to have our picnic?"

"We've got to go to the hill for that," Rowan said. "Well folks, see you around."

"See you," Fang said, nodding. "Just ask if you want help later."

Lucky smiled and ran after his father, who started to lead the way. Bluebear and Alice walked after them. "They seem pretty happy," I said. "I hope the others accept them."

"Nobody should have a problem with kids," Fang said.

I shrugged. "Well sometimes there are people uptight like that. Especially those who don't like disruptions." Thinking on that, I wondered if Eloise would be okay with them, since she had said she was looking for a quiet place to settle. I had a feeling that Pecan wouldn't have liked them, although she might tolerate the kids.

* * *

Saturday, April 11

It was a beautiful week, with nearly everyone was out admiring the trees. Everything looked and smelled fresh and full of life, much different than the fading autumn I had arrived to. Puddles was still trying to get Fang's attention by ignoring and stalking him at the same time, but that just made him relieved that she wasn't talking to him. To my relief, everyone in Verdant accepted Rowan's family, and the four of them were quick to involve themselves in town. In fact, Bluebear started helping me with picking weeds; on some days, I didn't even see one. The one argument I saw all week was actually Snake and Goose teasing each other. Snake was trying to get Goose to climb trees for exercise while Goose taunted him to come down to earth for a race.

However, it did worry me that I still hadn't seen much of Eloise. She did come to the weekly party, which was nice. We held it outside, even though the flower petals were filling the air like a delicate scented snowfall. Interestingly, Brewster came prepared for even that by pulling out a covered cart that held all of his brewing supplies, so that anyone who still wanted his wonderful drinks could enjoy them outside. But we had to resort to using various umbrellas to cover the snack table.

I saw the elephant sitting in a Ranch Chair to the side, nibbling on one of the caramel bird nest desserts that I had brought. "Hello!" I said to her. "What've you been up to?"

She gave me a polite nod. "Not much. But after the hectic activity that went on in my last town, it's forgivable."

"Heeeey, splish!" Puddles said, dashing over to us. "Whoa, are you the person who lives in that house in the middle of town?"

Eloise pointed to the south where the pink roof was visible. "That place? Yes, it's mine."

Wiping off her brow, she said, "Phew, I'm glad someone is in there! For a while there, I kept seeing movement in the windows but nobody ever came out. I thought it was haunted!" She shivered.

The yellow elephant raised an eyebrow at that. "Is that so? Well have no fear. My place is not haunted."

"That's good to know," I said, trying not to laugh too much. "This is Puddles, by the way. And this is Eloise."

At that, Puddles' eyes went wide. "Wait, what, really? The Eloise, Pretty Star Eloise? That's so cool!"

"Yes, that's me," she said, as if it wasn't all that important. "Or was, more accurately. I'm out of that business for now. Nadia, did you make these? They're quite charming and tasty."

I nodded. "Yes, it's something I used to make a lot around this time of year. And since Easter is tomorrow, it was easy to find the egg candies for them."

"So it is fitting of the season."

Puddles looked at us, puzzled. "Hey, how can you not be excited to talk about being a music and movie star, huh? I went with some friends to one of your concerts about a year ago and it was awesome!"

Eloise shrugged. "That's good to hear. But my life has been a big drama and I don't need to share it with anyone else at this time. I'd rather not have the drama brought here, if you don't mind."

"Awww, but real life drama is fun! You ought to hear about the wild tale of romance I've been playing in since I moved in to Verdant."

I had to smile at that. "It's a wild tale because you refuse to let it be otherwise no matter how much he tries to not be a part of it."

"He'll come around someday," Puddles said, still confident.

"You would have to make drama if there's not any around you, toots," Eloise said.

That got Puddles mad. "What, are you trying to say that I'm being fake?"

"Well," Eloise said, then looked at something passing by us. It looked like a life-sized doll of a fireman, complete with a bright yellow coat, a smoke mask helmet, and a fake axe. Lucky was dragging it along after him with a short piece of rope and roller skates on the fireman statue-doll's boots. "Hello, who's this handsome fellow?" Eloise said playfully.

Lucky looked over at us, then bashfully pulled his fireman closer and put his paws to cover his face. From nearby, Alice noticed us and groaned. "Luuucky, did you _have_ to bring Steve to the party?" This got the pup to hurry over to his sister, dragging his fireman along.

Eloise chuckled. "My, children do the most unexpected things. It would be interesting to hear him speak."

"They call it Steve?" I wondered aloud. It seemed like an odd choice for a toy. But maybe it was an imaginary friend of sorts, like my daughter had been with her dolls. The thought of that made me smile and wonder what would come around next.

* * *

_The Cherry Blossom Festival is really pretty in this game. Actually, I can't remember or find when those flagpoles went up in the Gamecube game. I know it was sometime in the spring, but I'm not sure if it was just during the cherry blossoms, April, or May. I haven't seen that particular landscape feature much, but it is quite nice.  
_

_Lucky's fireman statue is not actually an object, as far as I know. However, I do know that there is an astronaut and a diver statue which can be put in your house! They look kind of weird._

_Of the new villagers, I've had Eloise from time to time, as well as Bluebear and Lucky (Lucky's currently in my active game). I've not had Rowan, though. As for Alice, I had her way back on my first game on the Gamecube. She was one of the first villagers I really got attached to, so luckily she was an islander who never moved. Unlike some of my other favorites that I've had to be watchful to keep around (like Bob, Mitzi, and Coco)._


	27. Easter Sunday

**Chapter 27: Easter Sunday**

Sunday, April 12

Tortimer had invited us all to the town hall plaza early that morning. Not everyone made it out there, as I think some of them were still asleep. I arrived a few minutes early, finding that Puddles and Goose were joking around with Rowan and Alice. Lucky looked half-asleep, hanging onto Bluebear's paw as he tried to stay awake; Bluebear was talking with Dora, the two of them laughing in a friendly manner. As Tortimer wasn't out yet, we had some time to wait.

"We ought to raise the volume on the town bells and wake up all the sleepyheads," Rowan boomed, shaking a fist in the air. "It's a holiday, so it's time to show some community spirit!"

Puddles laughed. "Hey splish, why don't we just give you a megaphone and wake everybody up that way?"

"Dad doesn't even need a megaphone for that," Alice said, chuckling.

"It'd be more fun with a megaphone!" Rowan replied, grinning at the idea.

"They just have different schedules," I said. "They should join us in a couple of hours."

Puddles jumped happily. "Hey Nadia, good morning! Hey, guess what? I'm only one bug away from having my golden net!"

"That's great, keep up the good work," I told her. A goal like that might be worth a small celebration.

"Yeah, but there's a little problem," she said, putting a paw to her cheek. "Remember when I came here? I picked this place because I needed early spring and late winter bugs. Well, I think I've gotten all the different types of bugs I can get for this time of year, even with the cave. So I looked up all my books to see what I could be missing. The next bug I can get here that I've never gotten before is... the orchid mantis, and those don't come out until August!"

"Oh wow, that's quite a long ways out buh-kay," Goose said, eyes wide.

"Yeah, so I'm not sure what to do now," Puddles said. "Maybe I'll go take a few camping trips and see if I can find the right place with the right time for them. Or one of the other rare bugs that I've not caught before."

"Well there's all kinds of towns in all kinds of seasons," I said. "You should be able to find those bugs, or even just that one new one to meet your requirements."

"I was hoping I'd be able to make the cut with just Verdant, but looks like I'll be camping soon," Puddles said.

"That'll be fun," Rowan said. "Gonna take lots of pictures?"

"Of course!" she said, brightening up again.

"Oh, Rowan, could I get your help with something?" I asked. "I need to take down the flags since the fruit trees are pretty much done flowering, and they're pretty heavy."

"Sure, that'll be no trouble at all," Rowan said, smiling. "I'll get 'em down faster than wing boy here."

"Hey, whaddya mean by that?" Goose said, but then he laughed. "Sure, you're strong, but I can outrun you any day of the week."

"Absolutely!" the tiger said, amused by the reaction.

"Why do you like it when you insult each other?" Alice asked, raising an eyebrow at the two of them.

"Don't worry about that; it's a guy thing," Puddles said.

Then the town hall office opened up and Tortimer came out, along with a curious person. It seemed to be one of the animals in a full-body rabbit costume. A cartoony costume at that, with pink fur, a blue bowler hat, and a blue-spotted bowtie. "Good morning, every bunny!" Tortimer said happily, causing a few cheers from the small group. "And happy Easter to all of you! It's going to be a fun one, I tell ya, because today, we have a special guest visitor. Meet the Easter Bunny!"

"Hello and good morning all of you," the Easter Bunny said, full of energy. She almost had a familiar voice, if a little high-pitched. "It's time to celebrate the promise of new life and hope that spring brings, and we're going to make it wonderful with a fun game! I've been busy all night hiding lots and lots of colorful eggs all over Verdant. Go out and find as many as you can, and I'll give you prizes from my lucky basket for how many you collect! Also, there's a special golden egg which will be worth an extra special prize."

"Wow, that's new," Bluebear said excitedly. "What's the prize?"

"It's a secret," the Easter Bunny said in a sing-song way. "We'll be playing until sunset, so there's plenty of time. Keep your eyes bright and open for all of the eggs; I hope you've been eating plenty of carrots! Let's begin!"

The others there seemed excited for the holiday game. "All right, you ready to go hunting for eggs, Lucky?" Bluebear said, tugging at the pup.

Lucky jerked himself awake, then looked around at everyone else hurrying away to find eggs. Dora giggled. "You shouldn't be staying up late playing games, Lucky. We're going to hunt for eggs to get prizes from the Easter Bunny. See?"

Smiling shyly, he swayed back, but then looked over at the costumed bunny. Then Lucky's tail wagged and he began looking around the town plaza. Bluebear had to encourage him to go exploring elsewhere, so the two of them walked off together.

I went over to Tortimer and the Easter Bunny. "Did you really spend all night doing that?" I asked, looking at the open mouth on the costume. "And you're Helen, aren't you?"

Tortimer laughed at me. "Oh come on, can't you play along?"

"I'm too curious, I guess," I said, smiling.

"There's ways to hide many eggs in a short amount of time," the Bunny said, her voice on a more normal level so it was unmistakably our librarian lizard. "And you should have seen our discussion last night over today's event! It was such a good time."

"Hoorf, but I don't think Phyllis would agree on that," Tortimer said in amusement. "I tried to convince her to be the bunny, since a day of cheeriness might lighten up her usual grumpy attitude. But she was totally sour about it."

Helen nodded. "Still, I think we might've convinced her, but I thought this would be fun and she was adamant in thinking it wouldn't. Maybe next year."

"It would surprise me to see Phyllis acting cheerful," I said. Maybe it would have been funny to see her try. But, this was probably better that the costumed role went to someone who wanted to do it.

Despite the game, my day wasn't that much different. I walked around town, finding a few eggs while I checked on weeds and flowers. Rodeo was confused for a little while on finding three eggs among his roses, but he got excited when I told him that the Easter Bunny was trading them for prizes down at town hall. Still, it was fun watching my neighbors run around town searching for eggs.

Around noon, I came back to the town hall plaza to turn in the twelve eggs I had; they were taking up a lot of room in my bag, even turned to leaves. Fang was there, looking over a bag of candy he had gotten from the Easter Bunny. "I guess it is nice," he said, shrugging. "I just don't get what's up with this holiday. Don't we have the Cherry Blossom Week to celebrate spring? It doesn't always end on Easter."

"It can be an important day in the mortal realm," Helen said, using her Easter Bunny voice.

The wolf put a paw on his chin. "It can be, but that means it's not always?"

"Good morning, Fang," I said. "And she's right; It's pretty important if you recognize it, but might not be if you don't."

"Morning," he said, nodding to acknowledge me. "But that doesn't make sense. What's the deal with Easter anyhow?"

"It's something that matters a lot to a particular branch of religion," I said. Then I caught one of the Easter Bunny's ears. "As nice as our bunny is, this is a sweeter side of the holiday. The more serious side, to those who follow the Christian faith, is that a great man sacrificed himself for the sins of all mankind, so that we need not fear death. The pathway to heaven was opened even to those who had made mistakes, as long as they believed in God."

Fang was surprised by that. "R-really? So it was to make places like this?"

"I think so. But I don't know how much of that tradition shows up here in Animal Crossing. Plus, if you believe in another religion, then there are other reasons that good people can end up in heaven. It's difficult to know how much of it is true, since no one came back from death. It's a great comfort to those who believe, though."

To the surprise of both of us, Helen then said, "There is the option to study about religions of the mortal realm, although it is up to each animal to decide what they believe in. If you wish to pursue such study, you must be warned that it requires great devotion. You'll need to move to a special community and accept a much stricter lifestyle. But the masters there are more willing to teach about many deep mysteries, such as why we must be tested and why the mortality cycle continues."

"I've never heard of that before," Fang said. "Do they, well, do they talk about why it's harder for some animals to pass the trials than others?"

She nodded. "They do. And it's no surprise you haven't heard much about it. The communities keep quiet, but they are happy to invite those who serious about finding answers. Would you like me to reference you to them, so they can send you some material to consider joining?"

"You can do that?" he asked.

Helen gave a cutesy laugh. "Of course I can! I'm the Easter Bunny!" Then she leaned over and patted him on the shoulder. "Seriously, I lived in one for a couple of years. And, this is where it led me, to being a librarian. But for several that I knew there, it was the final breakthrough they needed. You seem like one that they would accept."

"That would be good. Thanks, Helen."

"BUNNY!" Puddles came running from behind town hall. "I've got more eggs!"

"That's great!" she said, waving her paws around. "But Nadia came up before you, so wait just a moment."

"Sure, I can wait my turn," she said, still happy from playing.

"I've just got these twelve," I said, taking them out in three handfuls to pass over.

"Ah, but you're still doing nicely," Helen said as the Easter Bunny. "In fact, you've earned two prizes now! Firstly, you get this lovely bag of yummy candy. Ta-dah!" She pulled a pastel baggie out of the large basket she carried; it was much like the one Fang had. Next, she picked out a leaf and flipped it into a smaller basket in her other hand. "And secondly, you get your own Easter basket with some of the delightful eggs you've found. Good work, but there's still more prizes to earn."

"Thanks," I said, taking the candy bag and the basket. The candy and hard-boiled eggs would be a nice snack later on, although the basket was a little too specifically Easter to use for anything else.

"Now how many do you have to turn in this time, Puddles?"

"I have ten more!" She passed them over, using both hands to pass over all ten egg leaves at once.

"Wow, that's three dozen now," Helen said, tucking the eggs into her basket in exchange for another leaf. "And for that, you get this fun fortune egg! Ask it a question, shake it up, then flip it over to see the mystical answer."

"Cool!" Puddles immediately turned it into a colorful plastic egg, decorated with suns and clovers. "I can't wait to try it! No, I'll try it now, um... oh yeah! Aren't Fang and I the cutest couple around?" She shook the fortune egg.

"Oh brother," Fang said, rubbing his head.

"Did you expect anything else?" I asked him.

Puddles then flipped the egg around, only to cry out, "WHAAAATT?! No, it can't be!"

"What's it say?" I asked, wondering if it said 'Ask me later' like the magic 8 balls did.

"It's says no," Puddles said, upset. As usual, she was extreme enough that it was hard to tell if she was being actually upset. "Aw, how can we not be cute?"

"Maybe it's because I'm not cute," Fang said. "Or that we're not a couple."

"Fortunes aren't everything, so don't let it get to you," the Easter Bunny said. "The fortune egg is for fun, and a little bit of luck if you leave it out on a shelf."

"Oh, I know what to ask." She flipped it over and then asked, "Is Fang going to declare his love for me publicly?"

"Never," Fang said. I had to wonder why he hadn't stormed off yet. Maybe he was trying to be patient and keep his temper.

Puddles went ahead and shook the fortune egg really well before turning it back over. Then she looked devastated. "Aw, it says no again! Are you broke?" She tried again, getting it to say, "'I don't think so'? Geez, this is a mean fortune egg. I wanted something romantic!"

"Hey, it's just a toy," Fang said. "Don't take it too seriously... geez, I can't believe I'm saying that to you."

"So you do love me?" she asked, still looking a little sad.

The white wolf groaned and slapped his forehead. "Look... you're kinda nice, when you're not being annoying. But I'm not in love with you. I'm not looking for love at this point in my life. So you're just wasting your time and my patience."

"Right," Helen said, nodding. "If you do go after the studies, you probably shouldn't have a girlfriend. Like I said, you must be very devoted."

"And there's that," Fang said.

"Huh, what kinda studies are like that?" Puddles said, looking at us in confusion. "It sounds awful, whatever it is."

"You only need to know if you're interested, or if you already know," Helen said.

"That's so weird," she said, tapping a foot. "Well, I guess if you say so, and the fortune's not right... argh, but what am I supposed to do now? I've got no more new bugs to hunt down for a long while and now this..."

"You'll find something," I said. "And maybe someone who does love you. Besides, weren't you talking of camping?"

"Oh yeah, that'll be fun." Puddles smiled. "Haha, can't keep me down for long even if you break up with me! Just don't get too boring if you get educated, Fang! I'm gonna look for more eggs and win the big prize!" She then ran off.

Once she was just out of hearing, Fang broke out into a grin. "Yes, haha! And I didn't have to make her really mad or upset about it."

"It kind of settled itself," I said, playfully nudging him. "But good for you."

Over the day, I managed to find enough eggs to claim the fortune egg gift too, as well as a stationary set and seed bag set. The seeds seemed interesting, as the bags included two zinnias, two sunflowers, a cucumber, a carrot, and a tomato. I considered trying to order more of the flowers through Nook's store, to add more variety to the town gardens. Although, growing some vegetables by my house sounded interesting too.

It was around four o'clock when I heard a voice calling my name from the trees. That could only be one person, I thought. "Snake? Where are you?"

"Just behind you, just above you," he said. I turned and there he was, standing in the branches and tossing the golden egg gently in his paw. "Could you help me with something?"

"Sure thing. And congrats on finding the golden egg."

He brushed his ears back. "Yeah, yeah. I was traveling through the trees when I spotted it by a rock. However," he looked at it, "this kind of event isn't really my thing. I prefer to be the one hiding things, revealing them as if by magic. I would like to do that with this little beauty, leaving it for one of the kids to uncover. Because that would be the real delight of the day, wouldn't it?"

"Yeah, that's wonderful of you," I said. "What do you need me to do?"

"Ah, well... quick, pick a number."

"Twelve?"

Snake nodded. "Even, so we'll go with the girl. Go find her. I'll be in your shadows. Once we know where she is, and who's with her, we'll figure a way to work the magic. Deal?"

"Deal." I went to the nearest path and walked along it quickly. Everyone had been moving around a lot today, so I knew it was going to take a while.

But as it turned out, Alice was a few feet from the beach, sitting on a rock among a colorful cluster of pansies. She watched the waves and clouds. Further down the beach, Bluebear called out, "Hey Alice, come on! Don't you want to see if there's any more prizes?"

"I'm good for now," Alice called, staying on the rock.

I stopped by a tree so that Snake could land on the lower branches near me. "This looks good," he said quietly.

"I'm sure you can sneak up and slip the egg near her," I said.

"Easily," he said. "But, just in case... go up to one side and talk with her. Keep her attention and once I'm done, let her look to where the egg will be on the other side."

Nodding, I waved to him and walked over to where Alice was. "Taking it easy for a bit?" I asked her.

She looked up at me and nodded. "Yeah. But I think we know the town really well now, cause we were running all over today." She smiled, a little weary. "It was fun, but the Easter Bunny gave me another bag of candy, so I think I got all the prizes I can. Lucky doesn't have as many, so I'll let him catch up."

"You could help him out," I said, crouching down near her and trying not to hurt the flowers.

"He has mom and dad helping him out; he'll be fine." She frowned and swung her feet together. "I don't know how they got so much energy still. I kinda want to go back in and read, but I should be out here with them."

"You could read out here," I said, shrugging. At the same time, I caught a glimpse of Snake nearby and tried not to look at him too much. It was pretty remarkable, seeing him move so quickly without disturbing the flowers or making a sound. To distract Alice from seeing him, I touched one of the orange pansies. "The flowers make it smell nice, and you could always find a shady spot if the sun is too bright. I like reading outside."

Alice blushed a little. "Oh yeah, I do too, but, um, I don't want to lose a book again. I lost one of my favorite books a while ago, before Lucky came, and I was so upset about it until someone turned it in to the lost and found."

I nodded. "You do have to be careful of things like that. But that shouldn't stop you from trying again."

"Maybe. Hey, why are these flowers orange?" She leaned over and made the pansy sway. "I know they come in white, red, and yellow, but you have orange ones here."

"They're hybrid flowers," I told her. I touched some red and yellow ones nearby. "See, if you put the same kind of flower close together, a new color might come up someday. Rodeo knows a lot about hybrids, even if he says he doesn't. I'm trying to get some blue ones going here too, based on what he said, that these white ones might make them." Noticing that Snake was gone now, I pointed to the other side of the rock's garden. "There's a pink pansy over there."

"Oh yeah, I thought that one was pretty," Alice said, looking over to it. From there, it was inevitable that she'd notice a sparkle of gold below the flowers. "Huh, wait... that wasn't here before." She pulled the golden egg out from under the pink pansy. "I'm sure I would've see it..."

"Congrats, you found the special egg," I said cheerfully. "Maybe nobody could find it until now because it teleports around and you got lucky enough to see it."

Her eyes went wide. "Really? I didn't know eggs could do magical things like that. Oh, but I should turn it in before it disappears then. Wow, I didn't really think that I'd..." she got up and hopped off the rock, hurrying off to the town hall plaza. I ran after her, just in case.

Back where the Easter Bunny was, we found Snake and Goose talking to her. "You could've asked me to hide the eggs," Snake said, holding himself proudly. "I'm really good at hiding, and I'm a rabbit too."

"You might make things too hard to find," Goose said.

"Haha, but you're not a magical holiday spirit!" Helen said enthusiastically. Then she put her paws over the costume's mouth. "Oh, oh, is that what I think it is?"

"Ye-yeah, I found the golden egg!" Alice said, still caught between disbelief and excitement. "You won't believe it, guv'ner, but it appeared out of nowhere! Cause I'd been sitting in the flower bed for five minutes and there were no eggs there, but then there it was all of a sudden when I was talking to Nadia!"

"Wow, that's amazing! But still, wonderful job finding it, as well as all the eggs you've turned in today! And because you found the special golden egg, you get the special prize." She put the golden egg into the basket, not bothering to turn it into a food leaf. Then she took out one leaf set off by itself. "And this... is the amazing Easter Faberge Egg. Be careful, as it's a truly rare treasure."

Alice took the leaf and turned it over to hold the Faberge Egg in her paws. It was quite a treasure, a delicate egg structure painted gold and silver, with tiny metal flowers decorating its base. Through four oval holes, they could see a small scene of a flowering tree, eggs, and an Easter Bunny inside. "Wow, it's so beautiful," Alice said in awe. "Th-thank you so much, Easter Bunny."

"No, thank you for finding my golden egg," Helen replied. "It was getting late and I wasn't sure it would be found."

"Eggcellent job, kiddo," Snake said, snapping his fingers.

"Hey, the bad puns are my job!" Tortimer said, jokingly swatting at Snake with his cane.

We were all laughing at that by the end of the day. But I don't think anybody but Snake and I knew what happened with the golden egg. Nobody else needed to know.

* * *

Saturday, April 18

Another person was leaving Verdant; this time, it was Fang. I gave him a hug before the train arrived. "I'm glad you came here," I told him. "You helped out a lot, even on the first day I met you with that rafflesia."

He patted my back before letting me go. "Aw, don't cry for me," he said. "I just do what I think is right. And, thank you too. You helped me out as well, what with happened to Pike and all that. But I think I'm going to find better answers this way. Maybe even figure out what I really need to be doing now." He smiled. "I might even send you some advice if I come across something good."

"It'd be good to hear from you whatever happens," I said. "I hope it goes well for you." The train whistled from the tunnel, so there wasn't much longer for goodbyes.

"You keep up the good work too," Fang said, nodding.

"WAIT!" Puddles rushed out from the trees, carrying a large suitcase with her. "I'm going too!"

"What?!" Fang asked, bristling his fur a little. Then he closed his eyes, apparently counting to calm himself down.

The frog just laughed at him. "Oh, that was great! Haha, well I am going, but not where you're going. We're just going on the same train, see?"

"Oh."

"You're moving too?" I asked, surprised. I thought she was going to start camping, but still keep her home here.

Puddles nodded. "Yup. Sorry to drop the drama bomb on you, but that's the way it's got to be. I've got to find a new quest, a new romance, and also an orchid mantis!" She jumped in place, despite the suitcase. "Oh, oh, and you know? I was wondering if I could catch Loki too!"

"I don't think a bug net would work for him," I said, imagining how Loki would look in a bug net. Even though I knew that would probably be dangerous, it made me giggle.

"Yeah, a bug net miiiight be a bit small." Then she grinned. "But you know what? The golden net is bigger! And golden! I'll catch him in my bug net, and put him in a bug cage, and then make him play with my butterflies!"

"That still seems dangerously dumb," Fang said. "You'd need lots of luck."

"I've got a fortune egg, so I'm way ahead of you!" She laughed and it was hard not to laugh with her. "Don't worry, I won't do anything that dumb. But you gotta admit, it'd be really nice if it would work."

"That it would," I said. The train stopped at the station. "There's your ride. Good luck to both of you, and keep in contact!"

"Right, can't miss the Flower Festival!" Puddles said. She put her suitcase down to give me a hug too, then the both of them boarded the train in order to move on.

* * *

_I believe this version of Easter comes for City Folk, being one of those things that I've read in my research/lurkings. Instead of having a character for Easter, they have another animal (presumably Phyllis, from the attitude) in a rabbit costume. I find that hilarious, especially if you have a rabbit in town. Although you get a specific egg-themed furniture set instead; don't recall if it includes a faberge egg (though that would be awesome).  
_

_A little off-topic, but I got surprised by one of my neighbors in AC:WW when he commented on the lucky black cat in my house, wondering if it was actually unlucky due to being black. I hadn't realized that their comments could be for specific items like that, instead of just general comments for the type of item it was._


	28. gorp

**Chapter 28: gorp**

Tuesday, April 23

It was late that evening as I was cleaning up in my kitchen, so I had the TV on waiting for the news to come on. Rain was starting to patter against the window, so I wanted to know if it would continue. On the table in the living area, I had a gardening book from the library. I could simply leave the vegetables to grow on their own, watering them as needed just like the flowers. But as I thought, there were a few extra little things that could be done to make the plants grow better.

"Welcome to ACTN News, giving you the latest word of what's going on in the world of Animal Crossing," the news anchor said, as usual. But then it continued differently. "Today we bring grave news of a major disaster in our realm, as one of the biggest storm clusters ever recorded passed through dozens of towns in several regions. It continues to move with no sign of slowing down any time soon. Trees have been pulled out of the ground, rivers and ponds overflowed, houses and buildings have been damaged, and many animals have gotten hurt. We have gotten word that this is indeed a hurricane, but the extent of the damage and how much longer it will continue on is unknown."

"A hurricane?" That seemed strange. In a few books, I found that they did have concepts and memories of such destructive storms, but they happened rarely here. The worst most animals here had seen were thunderstorms and blizzards, and the one here in Verdant had been highly unusual. But that had been caused by Loki; I wondered if he had a claw in this.

They shifted over to local weather reports early. According to it, Verdant was in for heavy rains with the chance for some thunderstorms. But it wasn't expected to get hit by the hurricane itself. After the local reports, they put up a list of towns known to have been affected and those they thought were at risk. In that list, I recognized Cliff Town, the one Muller anchored. Worried about him, I decided to write a letter and make a late visit to the town hall to get it mailed.

'To Muller-

I saw on ACTN that Cliff Town had been hit by that hurricane. How are you all doing over there? I know that hurricanes can be dangerous in the mortal realm, even lethal. I hope that nobody in your town got hurt too badly.

-From Nadia'

Thursday, April 25

'To Nadia-

Hey, thanks for writing. Actually, we got caught in the early part of the hurricane, so Cliff wasn't hit as badly as some of our neighbors. We have a lot of tree damage; one of them crashed into the town hall, so things are still disorganized at the moment. A few people were hurt, but most of them were just scared by the unexpectedness of it all. Only Prince had to be transferred to the hospital and he should be getting out tomorrow. I think we'll come out okay, although it's going to be inconvenient for a while. How're you doing in Verdant?

-From Muller'

Friday, April 26

'To Muller-

I'm glad to hear from you. I hope you all recover soon. Just be positive and help to keep up everyone's spirits. And if you need to confide in someone, I wouldn't mind hearing you out and keeping quiet.

As for Verdant, we're quite busy lately. We're planning on having a big flower festival in a few weeks, in hopes of raising funds to build a library here. Most everyone here is gardening and we're thankful that these storms didn't affect that. Although, we do have our first Sports Day coming up soon, so I hope it stays dry for a few days for that.

-From Nadia'

Saturday, April 27

'To Nadia-

Awesome to hear that you have my favorite holiday coming up! And you know, that gives me a great idea. We're waiting on repairs to be made here, because priority was rightly given to towns worse off than Cliff. And I could use something to cheer everybody up with. So, what do you say about having a cross-town competition for Sports Day?

Normally, this would mean that half the events would happen in Verdant and half in Cliff. Everybody who wants to participate would travel between the towns midway through. But if we held the whole thing in Verdant, we'd give time for the workers to come in and do repairs to Cliff's town hall, other buildings, and trees. I could toss you guys some money for your library for hosting us and we'd all have some fun. How about that?

-From Muller'

Sunday, April 28

'To Muller-

That sounds like lots of fun. I talked with the mayor Tortimer about this and he's enthusiastic to work with Cliff for this event. While I'm not much of an athlete, I don't mind getting together a meal and snacks for everybody. I just need to know how many are going to show up. It's scheduled for the first of May, in three days. Tortimer says that he's going to chat with the security people in our region's center of Chime City, so you should do the same since it'll mean you leaving Cliff for a few hours.

If you'd like any particular event there, just let us know. Although, whatever we decide on, there needs to be a race. I have two guys in my town who are rivals with each other, especially when it comes to running. We were going to have a beach race, mostly for them.

-From Nadia'

* * *

Wednesday, May 1

Sports Day arrived and with it came the villagers and a few of the workers of Cliff Town. Thankfully, the rain was holding off, leaving us with a warm day with a few fluffy clouds drifting overhead. Cliff had about the same number of villagers as Verdant, so it was quite busy as we gathered at town hall at seven in the morning for the first event: an aerobics session led by Copper. The large stereo he had brought played a peppy set of tunes to go along with the exercise.

Some of the animals weren't too happy with it. "Ugh, why did we have to get up so early and come all the way over here just to be in time for stretching?" a blue alligator named Alli complained, swinging her arms in a manner vaguely following the lead.

"It's the only reason I came out at this time," Eloise said, showing surprising flexibility in an elephant. "Ah, a refreshing start to the day and lovely way to keep impeccable grace."

"I wouldn't mind if it was later," a greenish hippo nearby said. I had been introduced to most of them, but it was hard keeping all these new people straight. Rocco wasn't bothering to participate, along with Lucky (who had fallen back asleep) and an oddly bearded frog named Prince.

"Aaah!" Rodeo, who had been trying to keep up, somehow fell on his back.

"You okay?" I asked as I paused to look over to him.

He sat up, rubbing his head. "Ow, this is hard." Someone muffled a laugh.

But Copper was encouraging, calling over, "Take it easy if you're not used to it, Rodeo! Just putting in the effort will make all the difference."

Prince yawned, rubbing his head. "It's a bit early to be putting effort into anything."

"Nonsense!" Copper took a moment to point out the group not participating. "A good stretch and exercise first thing in the morning is key to avoiding injury later on in physical activity. And since today's going to be packed, we've got to get a good start on the day."

"Exactly!" Rowan bellowed out, overpowering the others who cheered this advice. It woke Lucky up, who blinked and looked around at everybody.

Muller raised a hoof in agreement. "Yes, get limbered up so you don't overwork your muscles later on during the big events!"

"But I don't want to look all sweaty," Alli murmured.

"Everybody's going to be that way, so don't worry," a brown kangaroo named Kitt said gently to her.

After fifteen minutes of the stretches, Copper gave us a quick break before the 'real aerobics' as he put it. I went over to Tortimer, who had been exercising with us. He was already chatting with the mayor of Cliff Town, a dark cream-colored ferret named Anise. "It's nice to see you out exercising too, Tortimer," I told him.

"Ho ho, well it's not that easy with this creaky old shell," he said. "But I believe in remaining active, as much as one can be. Now Anise, this lady here is why you don't need to worry about our refreshments. Nadia's in charge of the food today and she's much better at it than I could ever be. Between her and the town brewmaster, this is one of the tastiest towns I've ever run!"

I chuckled at his enthusiasm. "Well I didn't do much fancy today, but it should be good for all the activity."

Anise nodded. "Most of our villagers should be happy with anything. As for me, as long as Tortimer's not in charge of the coffee, I'm glad. Did you say brewmaster? How classy; I don't get to drop in a coffee shop unless I'm in the city on business."

"I'm glad when I'm not in charge of the coffee too!" Tortimer said, grinning.

After a few minutes of chatting, Copper called us all back in line. "Okay, now for the real workout! I'm going to teach you all a few basic moves, then call them out in turn to the music. Keep them in mind!" He then taught us moves like the rising sun (stretching your arms in a circle, up and outward, then down and inward) and the growing tree (bend down to touch toes, then knees, then waist, then shoulder, then stretch up). Most of us did at least one round of aerobics 'dance', but quietly dropped out and back if they didn't want to continue.

I left the aerobics session after four rounds, but mostly because I wanted to set out a morning snack table to keep everyone going until lunch. Much of it was fruits, even some that I had to order from other towns in order to have a good variety. Then some bagels, two types of muffins, and some butter and cream cheese in a bowl of ice, in case someone hadn't had a sufficient breakfast. I also set up some juices, water, and sports drinks; Brewster had set me up with a good supply to keep everyone hydrated today.

While I was working over there, Dora came over, talking with a tan squirrel named Hazel. "Well it's odd, squeaky, but I've known another Hazel before," the mouse said.

"Is that right?" Hazel asked. "That's funny! I haven't met her yet, but I'd like to. There's so many animals out there with so many names, that it'd be great to meet up with someone who shares your name!"

Dora smiled. "Oh, it gets better! Because she's also a squirrel."

Hazel's eyes went right. "Re-really? Oh my gosh, now I have to meet her! Do you think I can send her a letter?"

"Um, probably?" She put her hand on her chin. "She lived in Sweetvale when I arrived, but then moved out before the incident with the mists. So I'm not sure where she is."

"Well then I'm gonna have to hunt down my name twin! I hope she doesn't mind."

A lot of the villagers seemed to be getting along, which was good. The aerobics session ended shortly after eight, at which point there was an hour break to socialize, walk around, or participate in some smaller stations that had been set up by workers in both towns. Since Tortimer was going to hang around the town hall where the snack table was set up, I went on a quick walk around town to get weeds and water flowers.

At nine o'clock, the town hall bells rang to call us back to the plaza. I spotted Prince, Dora, and Hazel at the beach, as they had opted to go fishing instead. Along with them, Eloise had decided against showing up to a game that was much like basketball. Three large poles had been set up, one in the center of the plaza and two down in the grassy area just south of it. Each pole had a basket, but there were many many small red balls instead of one basketball. While the goal was to shoot as many baskets as possible, about half of the participants were given rackets to try keeping the balls from reaching the baskets. They switched every few minutes; points were given for successfully tossing a ball in a basket, but were taken away for making contact with another player.

It was a hectic and wild game, but everyone seemed to be having fun. Tortimer, Anise, and I each watched a basket, keeping track of points and fouls. Although it seemed Rodeo or Rocco would do well due to their size, Rodeo kept tripping up or getting distracted while Rocco didn't like to run after the little balls. Snake, Bluebear, and Muller were doing well, along with a smaller bear named Poncho and an enthusiastic rabbit named Mina. But far and away the best player was Cliff's Bruce. He was a deer, so he was naturally quick and nimble. He was aggressively competitive about it, not giving himself a moment's break when he was tossing. Once, I saw him block both Goose and Snake when he had a racket.

On the sidelines, I noticed a blue duck with a pixie-style haircut staying out of the game and cheering on everybody. "SHRIEKING SUGARCUBES, DID YOU SEE THAT?!" she shouted. "Come on, you've got to do better than that!"

"You sure you don't want to play too?" I asked her, trying to keep an eye on the basket I was in charge of.

She shook her head. "Nuh-uh. I just want to make sure everybody stays pumped up and excited! Pate will make sure everybody has fun! Go go go! Get those balls in the baskets!"

Her cheers did make things seem more exciting. At ten-thirty, Anise blew a whistle to end the game and the three of us discussed point assignments. To no one's surprise, Bruce had a strong lead in points so he earned a gold medal for the ball toss event. The teal deer came up to me the accept it. "Heh, this made the morning trek and all my throwing practice worthwhile."

"Does that mean you'll stop throwing things at me?" Alli asked.

"If you stop walking through my yard."

At a quarter after eleven, I checked on my neighbors to make sure they were participating in the next event. Most of them were eager for it to begin, but I had trouble finding Eloise. Knocking on her door, I found that she wasn't at home. I also checked the library (no luck) and the coffee shop.

She was down there, reading a book and sipping a cappuccino. "Are you going to be at the next event? It starts in just a few minutes on the beach, at eleven-thirty."

Eloise shrugged. "I don't know. It's been so noisy with all these people and I already made my showing at the day's event."

"Ah. Well I won't make you, but it would be nice if you joined us. It's the town versus town event and they have one more person than we do as it is."

"Hmm." She rubbed her chin. "What event is it?"

"The tug-of-war." Cliff had one more person and a more even level of strength. However, we had Rowan who seemed to be stronger than anybody else here. But we also had his two kids, so Verdant was at a disadvantage even if I got Eloise to join.

"Might be rough on the hands. But, since it is for town spirit, I could give it a go." She smiled. "All right, I'll be there."

"Thanks." I thought about heading out, but we'd have to wait until she and everyone else arrived anyhow. "And I hope I'm not rude, but I was wondering, if you don't like the noise, why did you move in the middle of town? That house is right on the main path between Nook's shop and the tailor shop."

"It's not like this town is this busy on most days," Eloise said. "Besides, as much as I like the quiet, I can always come up here if things are too noisy down there. I simply can't resist the convenience of being near two good shops."

Soon after, we were down at the beach for the tug-of-war. As the town anchors, Muller and I were given the positions nearest to the center of the huge rope that had been found for us. I decided to have Rowan towards the end to make use of his strength, while Bluebear and Snake were near me as they would help keep a steady leverage. Meanwhile, Tortimer and Anise stayed to the side to cheer us and watch the flag in the middle. It was quite a challenge, but in the end, Cliff's side won two of the three matches.

Some of the animals wanted to keep going at the tug-of-war, but others of us had aching hands or arms. "I'm going to have lunch set up near town hall at a quarter after twelve," I announced to everyone there. "If you show up before then, I'll assume you're there to help."

A few laughed at that, but I did have Dora, Bluebear, Anise, Tortimer, and one other come with me. The last was a yellow mouse named Chadder. "I hope you don't mind that I brought some dishes to this picnic," he said. "I just hear of a special event and I can't help myself. I have to go play in the kitchen to make something for it."

I laughed. "I'm the same way! I don't mind, it'll be more variety for everyone."

He had brought a potato salad and barbequed beetles, which was nice because I had a fruit pasta salad, a regular pasta salad, a veggie tray, and snickerdoodle cookies. I also had a small grill set up to cook some fish on, so that I could make fish tacos with tortillas and coleslaw. Since I had to get started on that, I had the others clear the morning snacks and set up the other lunch dishes. Chadder started helping me make the fish tacos as the others came up from the beach to eat.

While we making tacos for Prince and Rodeo, Chadder asked me, "Say, what is that sweet salad you have? I haven't got to try it yet, but it smells nice."

"It's frog eyed salad," I told him, not really thinking much of it. "I was surprised to find..."

"What, I have to put my eyes in that?" Prince asked.

I laughed as I realized that. "No, no you don't. It's named after the pasta it's made with, called acini de pepe, or frog eyes. No frogs in it at all."

"They don't look much like my eyes," he said, looking at his plate which had a dollop of all of the salads on it.

"They do kind of look like the right size for the pond frogs... oh, that's gross," Rodeo said, sticking his tongue out at the end.

"There's no frogs or actual frog eyes in it," I repeated. "Just the pasta."

Prince chuckled. "Well I'm glad that I don't have to put my eyes in. But I'll probably put my whole face in it!"

"As long as it's just the portion you have, have at it," Chadder said. Then he winked at me. "I hope somebody gets a picture of that."

"It'd be a good one," I agreed.

A number of the animals came over and complimented me on the lunch, especially the fish tacos. After eating, the scheduled activity was walking around town, with the activity booths back open. I went around seeing what they had available. Pete had one on the east end of town about the benefits of daily exercise, even with something as simple as walking. Surprisingly, Mabel had a carnival game near the tailor shop, of tossing hats onto a row of mannequins; she was giving away random shirts as prizes. Up near the museum, Helen had another game, an obstacle course of tires, hurdles, a ladder bridge, and a rope swing while running around or under the trees. I managed to win a new book by completing the course in good time without tripping.

At two o'clock, we had two events run simultaneously. Normally the kickball and water balloon games would have occurred separately, but since we had another town celebrating Sports Day with us, we wanted to be done so they could get back home in good time for dinner. So at the town hall plaza, a pair of goals were set up for two teams, of five villagers each. They would attempt to kick a ball into the other team's goal while defending their own. The games went for twenty minutes, then we would see if anyone wanted to switch in or out. And just south of the plaza, there were two large bins of water balloons inside a large chalked off circle. Inside the circle, the balloons couldn't be thrown. But once outside, we were free to throw them at whoever we wanted.

I suppose it might have been unavoidable that after a while, someone threw a water balloon into the kickball game and the two games merged into a wet chaos. But it was lots of fun and the balloon bins never seemed to empty. There was even a water spigot and a hose near the bins, even though it wasn't really needed.

About ten after three while others were figuring out the water balloon kickball game, I came into the restricted area to find Lucky with Steve the Fireman. The pup was playing with the hose, trying to get Steve to hold it. Water poured gently from it as he moved with it, causing a muddy puddle to form there. "Are you preparing to fight fires?" I asked him.

Lucky looked up and wagged his tail at me. But then when he let go of the hose, Steve didn't hold it and it dropped to the ground. He sighed in disappointment.

"Looks like you've got to take charge," I said. Then I picked up the hose. "Hey, want to see a neat trick? You can make the water go really fast and far, just by sticking a thumb in front of the end. See?" I covered up part of the end, to make it shoot outside the circle.

Lucky's eyes went wide at that, so I gave him the hose. He tried it out himself and was pleased with the results. Then I whispered a plan to him. If he held onto the hose like that and I turned up the water, we could hit everybody on the kickball field. But he'd have to step out of the chalk barrier to do so within the rules.

Moments later, there was squealing and laughter from the kickball field as everyone there got soaked. I got hit by a lot of water balloons after that, but it was worth it and nobody was really mad. I even saw Muller with a camera, taking pictures of the delightful mess. It was a warm spring day, so we were having a lot of fun.

Once the games were called over (to a number of calls of disappointment), we helped put away the equipment. And since most everyone was there, I brought a large plastic bag out of my storage bag. "Hey everyone, I've got our afternoon snack right here! And it's gorp!"

"Gorp?" Rodeo asked in puzzlement.

Muller clapped his hooves together. "Haha, brilliant! Good old raisins and peanuts, huh?"

I nodded. "And graham crackers, and marshmallows, and pretzels, and candy-coated sunflower seeds, and mini chocolate chip cookies... I went a little overboard. But I've got lots and lots of portion bags, so take as much of it as you like. Some for now and some for later."

That was met with approval and before long, I had all the bags given away and everybody happily snacking on the mix. Fortunately, I had a cereal box back home where I had put aside a portion of it for myself. It was simple stuff, but still really good.

There was another break, but there was a lot of excitement for the final event, the race at the beach. Goose and Snake were all fired up about it, as were a few others from Cliff. On the other hand, some animals told me that they weren't going to participate in the race ("Too much intensity already," as Dora had said) but they were going to watch and cheer on their friends. I had a feeling that this would be something they'd talk about for a long time.

Fifteen minutes before the race started at four, I walked along the route with Muller. They would be starting at the west end, running along the beach to the river at the east end, then running back. At the river, I pointed across to where Goose's house sat. "There's just a small section of beach down there, and the bridge is close to the lake. I figure it's just easiest to have the turning point here."

"Gotcha," he said. "As long as we keep to the sand, the palm trees shouldn't be much of an obstacle. This'll be great!" He patted my shoulder then, making me look up to him. "And thanks again for having us over today. I can see that a lot of my neighbors are in better spirits, plus it seems like a lot of them have been making some friends too."

I smiled. "It was your idea, and a great one at that. It's been a lot of fun; we should do something like this again sometime."

"Oh yeah, we'll have you all over at Cliff next time! Of course, this isn't the first time I've dropped in on another town's Sports Day. I just love it so much. Although this is the first time I've dragged my whole town into the party crashing too. Usually there's one or two that would rather stay home."

I nodded. "That's good. I do have one of mine that I've needed to talk into participating more. But she's still fairly new to town, so I don't know her as well as some others. I figure that if I stay friendly and open, she'll eventually come out more."

"Sometimes all you can do is be patient with some neighbors, and show your true spirit in helping out the others. This one time, I had a guy in Cliff that I hardly saw out of his house for five months. He turned out to have a good reason to be like that, but that was a trial of my patience at times."

"I imagine," I said, but then we got interrupted with the calls of two others.

"Hey, Nadia, Muller!" Goose called out, running over to us with Mina in tow. "Hey, we've been looking for you two! Can we talk?"

"Sure, what's on your mind?" I asked.

"We've been talking with each other and now we really want to trade places, I mean, swap towns," Mina said, beaming. "This place is so awesome with all the trees; I hardly ever see a town like this even when I go around camping."

"Well I thought Cliff sounded like an awesomely unique town," Goose said. "I haven't seen it, but you guys have three levels? Man, I've never seen that many cliffs in any town; it would make for an awesome workout going up and down everywhere!"

"You got that right," Muller said, offering a fistbump to Goose. "Like I always say, you better be fit when you move into Cliff, or you'll have to get fit. But yeah, if that's what you two want to do, go right for it. Our town shouldn't be much of a mess when we get back."

I nodded. "Yeah, that's fine. I'm going to miss having you around, though, cause you've done a lot for Verdant and you've always been a good guy to hang around with."

"Aw shucks, thanks Nadia," Goose said, giving me a hug. "But I'm sure you've got things handled and that Verdant's going to be recognized as awesome in time."

Nearby, Muller put his hoof to his chin. "Aw, now I've never been good at mushy scenes. Hey Mina, you make sure to finish up your quest, all right?"

"You got it, sir!" Mina said, striking a pose. Between her clothes and a patch of pink fur she had around both eyes, she seemed a lot like a girl hero being dramatic. "I'm never gonna give up. But, isn't the race going to be starting soon?"

"Oh yeah!" Goose said. "We've got to get back across town." And they all started running.

I ran after them, although I didn't have much of a chance to keep up with any of them. "Hey, you're not racing yet!" Thankfully the three held back to a pace that I could keep up with, so we all arrived at the fence on the western beach together.

As the town hall bells struck four, everyone had gathered there for the big race. Tortimer handed me a large flag while he and Anise held onto a long white ribbon for the finish line. Those who weren't participating were gathered around just off the sand; I noticed that Eloise had not only decided to watch, but she had brought a pair of binoculars. Pate too had some, so they could keep an eye on the racers. Of course Goose and Snake were running. Muller was running too, along with Rowan, Bluebear, Poncho, Bruce, Chadder, Hazel, Mina, and, most surprisingly, Lucky. The beach was just about wide enough at that point to have them all in a line, but other parts were narrow and some might end up running on the land. For a moment, I thought it would have been nice if there were cameras around so we could watch the whole race. But this would do.

Everyone started cheering as I walked out onto the beach in front of the racers. "All right, everyone, it's time for the final event of our Sports Day, the great beach race! Are all of our racers ready to begin?"

"Yeah!" They jumped up and down, pumped their fists in the air, or did some stretches in readiness. The audience whistled, waving pom poms and smaller flags.

I brought up the large town flag of Verdant in front of me. "Great! When the flag drops, run all the way down the beach to the river, then run all the way back here. Here's the countdown: three... two... one... go!" I swept the flag down in front of me, accompanied by Anise's whistle. The eleven racers all ran right past me, their feet pounding into the sands.

As I went over to join the crowd, Eloise had moved to the edge to watch over them. "Goose and Bruce are pulling ahead already."

"I want to watch too!" Pate said, using her binoculars as well.

"You need a better vantage point, hippie," Rocco said. Then the hippo picked up Pate and put her on top of his head.

"Whoa, hey thanks! I can see great now!" She leaned forward. "Oh, oh, Muller's getting up there too! Wow, never thought I'd see anybody who could keep up with them!"

"Just don't put your foot in my eye," Rocco warned.

"Whoops, looks like Lucky tripped up," Eloise said.

"I hope he's okay," Alice said. "I didn't think he'd really join the race. I mean, there's so many good runners here."

"It's good of him to try," I said, still hanging onto the flag.

"Man, they're getting close to the river already!" Pate said in excitement. "The front runners, anyhow. This is gonna be a mess when they have to turn around."

"I hope I can shuffle into position before they come charging down here," Tortimer joked, walking onto the beach with Anise.

"Whoa, they're turning! Goose and Muller and Bruce... oh, and Snake's not too far behind."

"Oh dear, now Mina's taken a tumble into the water," Eloise said. "And... oo, how romantic. Goose gave her a wing up and then hurried on to keep his lead."

"Wow, do they like each other?" Prince said. "I thought they were talking about swapping places, not moving into the same town."

"Who knows, toots?"

"Man, I missed that," Pate said. "Oh, but look! Snake totally took advantage of the confusion at the turning point to get ahead! You should've seen that weaving. He's in front of Muller, and... oo, he almost passed Bruce and Goose is not that far ahead now."

"That's Snake's strength," I said.

"Clever... oh wait..." Eloise smiled. "Looks like the middle ones ran ahead, but Lucky's tripped up again and got upset. But now Chadder and Mina are cheering him on, letting him run ahead of them even though he didn't entirely make it to the river. That's sweet."

"They're coming in, I can see them!" Dora called, pointing down the beach.

"Let's cheer them in," I called, raising the flag up again and waving it to where the racers would see it easily. The rest eagerly did as asked.

There were four in the front pack. Goose, Bruce, and Snake were all close enough to touch each other, while Muller was not too far behind them and trying to sprint up. And they came in in exactly that order, with Goose breaking the ribbon in two as he slid to a stop before he reached the fence and the mists. Next came Bluebear and Hazel, crossing the finish line together. Poncho and Rowan were not long after. And finally, Lucky completed the race with Mina and Chadder still following after him to make sure that he did so.

"Ho ho, that was quite a race!" Tortimer said. "You all did wonderfully and we managed to have some spotters who caught all the excitement."

"Yes, there was a lot of good sportsmanship and spirit going on, not just in this race, but all day today," Anise said. "I believe we can all call this a tremendous success." While there were extra boisterous cheers from everyone, the ferret mayor beckoned me over, to take the Verdant flag and give me the three medals. "Nadia, would you do the honors?"

"Thank you," I said. I picked out the right one, then called out, "In third place, we have the strategic ninja runner Snake! Here is your bronze medal."

"Heh heh, it's not the only way I'll vanish in the blink of an eye," he said, accepting the medal.

"Good work on placing, this time," Goose said, teasingly.

"You know it."

"Maybe it wasn't to your advantage, but it was a great show, from all of you," I said, taking out the second medal. "So, in second place, we have the dodgy accurate master at ball toss and balloon fights who proved himself excellent in running as well, Bruce!"

"You have no idea how often those things go paw in paw," the deer said mischievously, accepting the silver medal.

"Always!" Snake said, amused at it.

"And our winner of our great beach race is the quick footed and dedicated Goose! Congratulations." And I gave him his gold medal.

"All my hard work paid off!" Goose said, accepting it. "And thanks to all of you! It was a great race, the most exciting I've been in for a long time!"

"That was an AWESOME race to watch, congrats!" Pate said, clapping with all the rest.

With that, our Sports Day activities were over.

* * *

Thursday, May 2

The sky was looking cloudy again, another chance of rain coming by evening. That afternoon, I was discussing the current garden arrangements around town with Rodeo. Some of his rose gardens were creeping onto the pathway marked by the solar lights and we didn't want people walking through them.

I heard the train coming in and stopping. Goose had left that morning, so it had to be Mina moving in. "You know, you're the only one left in Verdant of the original group that moved in with me."

Rodeo's eyes went wide. "Hey, you're right! Well, people move around all the time."

"Seems that way," I said. "It's a little sad to think about that. But then, I've met a lot of good people either living here or passing through. It's probably not worth it to dwell on the sad aspects for long."

"Hmm, yeah, that sounds good." He tapped his head then seemed startled. "Oh, but don't worry about me! I'm here to stay. After all, I've got all of these roses to look after." He smiled proudly. "This is the most flowers I've ever had, and there's so many hybrids too! But I haven't found my gold rose yet, so I'm going to work at this until I get one."

I patted his shoulder. "I'm sure you will, Rodeo."

* * *

_Sports Day is a fun event in the Gamecube version. Unfortunately, you can't really participate, only watch your neighbors compete with each other in the ball toss and a race around the town fountain. There's also an aerobics session, which you can play along with if you like. I think there's a fourth event, but I don't remember it right off. All well. I'd much rather have Sports Day over Yay Day.  
_

_With the loads of cameo characters, we have some from my current WW town and some of the new animals from NL. They seem like pretty cool neighbors to have around. And I'd like to thank HayleyComet, MercuryEclipse, and AshRB for answering my questions and chatting about New Leaf; it helps a bunch!_

_Gorp is good stuff. And it's a more fun name than trail mix. I remember mixing it up in a large clear (and clean) trash bag for a Girl Scout camp once. Frog-eyed salad is also real, and also pretty good._


	29. Bartering with Redd

**Chapter 29: Bartering with Redd**

Monday, May 13

May just seemed to fly by with activity, all building up to the Flower Festival. I helped out Tortimer with planning events and contacting a few outside the town to help out. There had been an interview with the radio and TV networks, for their news programs. Around town, I had to finish up the gardens as well as move hybrids around as they appeared. I thought I wasn't going to get a chance to really take a day off until after the festival, but then an opportunity presented itself and I took it.

In fact, it was a Mother's Day card from my kids. I'm not sure if they left it at my grave like they did with the Christmas card. Their signatures looked right, but the notes looked more like thoughts of me rather than what they're write on a card. Lucia's was upbeat, saying, 'It's odd to have a Mother's Day without Mom around. But I know she's happy helping the animal angels, so I hope she has a great day and can relax some'.

On the other hand, Allen's was causing me to worry. His note said, 'I miss you, Mom. I don't get why you had to be the one to die.' I suppose that he was getting a little old to believe in a place like Animal Crossing as easily as Lucia did, and he wasn't writing journal entries to me like Mitchell was. There wasn't much I could do, other than pray for him. I started doing that that Sunday, hoping that my feelings and love reached my son somehow.

The card came with some a small jar of jelly beans and a coupon for a free spa session at the beauty parlor in Chime City. It was a Mother's Day special even, so it didn't surprise me when I heard that Bluebear got the same offer from her kids. Since I wasn't supposed to leave town alone, I got hold of her so that we could go out the Monday after.

We caught a late morning train, intending on getting lunch in the city and go to the parlor after that. "It's surprising that your kids managed to get you a gift even though they're in a whole different world," Bluebear said as we sat down in the train car.

"I think their intentions manage to come across on special days," I told her. "It's happened before. I just hope it works in a similar way from me to them, even if items can't show up."

"Oh, is something going on?" she asked with friendly concern.

I went ahead and told her about what was going on with Allen. "He's probably trying to pretend he's okay when he's still sad about what happened. I hope that he decides to talk with somebody about it, like his father or someone else. Just not bottle it up for a long time."

"Yes, I've known quite a few guys who don't like to share their feelings," Bluebear said.

"It's not as bad here," I told her.

That got her by surprise. "Really? Huh. Well, I've heard that a mother's love is a powerful force. I'm sure if you pray for him, help will come to him."

I smiled at that. "I hope that happens."

"So what are your kids like?" That kept us talking all the way to Chime City.

* * *

Chime City

September 19

It was a hot breezy day in Chime City. Their trees were starting to turn autumn colors. As usual, there were a number of animals going about their business. I saw the shoe seller Kicks still at his sidewalk business while a mostly orange calico feline was selling ice cream treats out of a cart. "I've got some business at the city hall, so why don't we get that over with first?" I suggested.

"That's what I would do," Bluebear said. She didn't have much to do with those little meetings, where I had to turn in some papers they didn't want mailed and answer questions from the security managers. But she knew why people were concerned about the anchors, so she saw it as her duty to keep track of me. It was for the best.

Especially when we got back to the fountain plaza and found that Loki was causing a commotion. He was perched among the fountain's bird sculptures, watching over four city guards who were silently trying to arrange how to capture the mantis. Meanwhile, those who had been in the plaza had escaped between buildings and along the road. But a fair number watched from afar in a fearful curiosity.

Not only that, but he was facing off against a cat who had to be Einziel. He had short orange fur with calico splotches of white and brown, which would be common if not for the matching feathered wings sprouting from his back. Seeing that, I wondered if he had been the one at the ice cream cart when we arrived. He might have finally caught Loki in person.

"I don't see what you're making such a fuss over," Loki said to Einziel, leaning against a thin pillar that kept the birds in flight. "You already have a class of inhabitants like that silly giraffe, who are allowed to sidestep some rules in order to test the people here. I'm simply capable of doing so on a much greater scale."

"Was that why you started the hurricane three weeks ago?" Einziel asked. He looked alert, keeping his eyes on Loki but his ears checking around for trickery.

"Part of why," he admitted. "But if you're not going to work with me, I don't need to tell you more of why."

"We don't need or want someone like you around," the cat angel said. "Your actions is far too unbalanced, doing more damage than help."

"Are you so sure of that? What happened in wake of my lovely hurricane?" He tilted his head, then smiled. "Hmm, my key is nearby. I hear they're going to have an interesting event in a week. Hm hm, good luck in that." Then he jumped away and vanished into thin air. The angel soon followed, leaving the city police to settle things in the plaza.

I immediately thought of our Flower Festival. How did he intend on messing with that? "This can't be good," I said quietly.

"Does he really mean us?" Bluebear asked, putting a paw to her cheek. "I hope he doesn't try to kill the flowers or something else mean."

"We can't let his words stop us," I said. "We'll just have to make sure everyone is extra vigilant."

"That's the spirit," someone said near us. I turned and saw that it was a mostly orange calico cat, wearing jeans and a yellow shirt with an ice cream print on the front.

"Einziel?" I asked, puzzled at how he'd gotten there so soon. He did teleport earlier, but I thought he'd gone elsewhere.

"Oh don't be silly," Bluebear said. "He doesn't have wings."

The cat laughed, rubbing one of his ears. There was a white marking on his fur there, a halo ring around the ear. "Actually, she's got it right. I am Einziel. I just don't need to show my wings when I want to keep low-key."

"Wow, really?" she asked, her eyes widening.

"I thought you'd gone after Loki," I said.

Einziel shook his head. "He went deep into the mists, far enough that the rules of the realm are weak. I've been chasing after him for weeks now but I won't follow him there."

"Why's that?" Bluebear asked. "It'd be best to stop him, right?"

It made sense to me, due to my knowledge of the mortal realm. "Loki's trying to pick a fight with him. I guess if you get far enough into the mists, violence can be used."

"That's why I don't chase him there," Einziel said. "Don't get me wrong; I can fight and I often do, against the stronger monsters of the mists that Rover and the others can't take on. I train them too, any who regularly go into the mists. However, my job is to defend and maintain the realm of Animal Crossing. If it turns out that his power as a god is authentic and he defeats me in battle, he will cause great damage to our stability. I can't take that risk."

"If Loki's in Animal Crossing itself, he has to play by the rules and so they have an advantage," I told Bluebear. "What about someone from another realm? If he can cross realms freely, surely there's someone else."

"There aren't many who can, or do these days," Einziel said. "A few other angels have been in the edges of this realm also searching for Loki. But the main thing you need to worry about is your own town and it seems that he's planning on causing trouble there again."

"You've probably heard something, but we've got our Flower Festival next week," I said. "We were going to open up the weekend to visitors too. On one hand, I'd like for everyone to be safe. But really, I don't want him to scare us into doing nothing."

The angel nodded. "I'm going to keep following him as best I can, with a special eye over Verdant too. So if you see a cat selling ice cream, don't think too much of it." He then winked at us. "Well then, have a good day ladies."

"Thank you," I told him, waving as he went to speak with one of the police officers. I turned to Bluebear. "That's good to know, that he'll be there."

She thought about it, then smiled. "I guess you're right. If Loki has to play by the rules and Einziel will be around, then there's nothing to worry about. Oh, but we have to keep that a secret." She giggled.

I laughed too. "Yes, just between the three of us now. Now that store we were talking about, I'm pretty sure it's on that end of the plaza."

"I hope so," Bluebear said as we started walking over there.

When we had been discussing what to do while we were in Chime City, she brought out a one-day pass she had for a special store, Redd's Emporium. Bluebear had never been in the store and I had talked to Redd himself a few months back, so we decided to check it out. As I remembered it, the store had a plain front with no clear windows inside. The door was locked, which should have meant that the store owner was out.

Instead, a slot opened up at eye level, revealing someone's hidden face. "Do you have a pass?"

"Yes, it says it's for 'you and a friend for one day'," Bluebear said, holding the pass up to the slot.

He took it, then shut the slot and opened the door for them. Redd wore a blue apron and a slightly toothy smile. "Then welcome, ladies. Please come in to see my exclusive store. Maybe I have the item that you're dreaming of? You'll only know if you come around regularly."

With all the drama he put on, Redd's store was a little disappointing. I expected some kind of fancy boutique, but instead it was like a small warehouse, a slight step up from the Nook's Cranny store that Tom had started with. There was a group of wooden boxes to the left of the entrance; they gave off an electronic hum. The floor seemed to be gray concrete blocks, but a closer look showed that wires ran in criss-crossing lines across the room. As for the items on sale, there was only seven items on display.

"You're lucky that you decided to drop in today," Redd said, shutting the door. "I move my business from day to day; I'm usually in this area no more than once a week."

"Is that what the hidden equipment is for?" I asked.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he said, twitching his ears. "Feel free to ask about any of my merchandise. And don't be fooled by mere appearances. These are all rare and unusual pieces, items that you won't find anywhere else. I also have a knack for seeking out such items for my customers, but I'm afraid that you would need membership privileges to ask for my assistance there."

Of the items here had, there were two that interested me. There was a china cabinet that seemed like it belonged to the Classic series I liked, perhaps that hutch Pierre had mentioned. If it was a good price, it would be nice to get. But Redd gave me the impression that it might take some hard bargaining to get there. More surprisingly, he had the increasingly infamous Valkyrie Dress displayed on a mannequin. There was also a toy fire engine that got Bluebear's attention, as well as two paintings, a small cement mixer, and a totem pole.

To test him out, I picked out the Valkyrie Dress first. "You have that here? I thought Gracie's store was the one selling it."

"You have remarkably discerning tastes to pick up on that little treasure so quickly," Redd said, coming over to the mannequin. "And you're absolutely right. This is the Valkyrie Dress that was once on sale as a very special item in Gracie Grace. Extremely special, in fact, as there is not another article of clothing like it in all of Animal Crossing. Even more surprising, she claims not to have made it herself!"

"Wow, really?" Bluebear asked, coming over out of curiosity. "Then where did it come from?"

"No one knows," Redd said, in the sort of voice one would tell urban legends in. "It's a mysterious item from a mysterious source and for some inexplicable reason, she doesn't wish to sell it any longer."

"That's because it's cursed," I said, touching the piece that looked like an armored vest. Something didn't seem right, though. "People kept returning it because it caused them many misfortunes."

He raised his eyebrows, twisting his ears forward in an interested poise. "Is it? Are you so sure about it? People blame bad luck on many things. And if it is cursed as you say, there must be a way to break the curse, don't you think? This dress is already gossiped about greatly and you could become the talk of fashion world if you managed to make or prove it safe. You could try, at my reasonable price of twenty thousand bells."

"That doesn't sound reasonable at all," Bluebear said, intimidated at that cost.

"It was expensive at Gracie's, but I don't think it was that high," I said. Not only that, but I was starting to think that this was a knock-off. The fabric seemed flimsy and even though I'd only seen the real one once, some of the details like the visible stitches didn't seem right.

"The Valkyrie Dress is getting quite a reputation," Redd said. "And as I said, this is a one-of-a-kind item. For such rarity and notoriety, plus the quality and golden design, it could be priced much higher and someone would still buy it. You're getting a deal by going with me. So, do we have a deal here?"

"Not now," I said, shaking my head. I still liked how the dress looked, but for that price and the strong possibility that it wasn't even the real thing, I wasn't going to drop that much on it.

We talked for a bit about the paintings, but they seemed fishy too. Redd tried to talk up the cement mixer to us, but neither of us was interested. When we got to the hutch, he put his paw to his snout. "Yes, this is quite special, something that I've been tempted to keep myself. It's the Classic Hutch and I've been seeing fewer and fewer of them around. You see, it's a rare case of a discontinued item."

"They no longer make it?" Bluebear asked, curious.

He nodded and patted the shelf. "Correct. The furniture makers got their heads together and decided that they had a few too many, hmm how do I say? Too many decorative pieces in the Classic set, even though they're all lovely and of this exquisite quality. They redid the Classic series to include the Buffet Table now. However, the HRA will still count this as a part of the Classic series, and I'm sure that any day now, they'll also mark it up as an antique which will be worth a huge amount of points. But that's just a theory of mine and if you really wanted this, I could let it go for, say, twelve thousand Bells."

For a moment, it struck me as funny that he was pricing a knockoff dress higher than a discontinued piece of furniture. Smiling, I said, "That's quite a bit more than what other Classic items go for in the Nook stores."

Redd waved a paw at that to indicate that he didn't care about what his competitors priced things at. "They won't sell this item anymore, even though a catalog. This could be your one chance to snatch one up for yourself."

"I'll think about it," I said.

"You don't have long to think," Redd reminded me.

"What about this fire engine toy?" Bluebear asked.

"It's a charming one, isn't it?" he said, perhaps a little relieved to be dealing with Bluebear rather than me. "The ladder can be moved around, it rolls along a floor easily, the door opens, the steering wheel turns, and the hose can even be unwrapped off its roller. It doesn't have lights or sounds, and it can't spray water. But then again, if you mean to give this to a child, that would be a good thing for you, wouldn't it?"

She chuckled. "Oh yes, not quite as messy or annoying. How much for it?"

"For you, I would say, two thousand bells."

"Is that a regular price for toys?" I asked Bluebear.

She considered it. "It's a little pricier than most toys I've gotten the kids, especially since they tend to get broken more in play. What about seventeen hundred?"

"The fire engine model doesn't come out as often as other vehicle toys," Redd said. "I suppose I could take eighteen hundred for it."

"That sounds all right," Bluebear said. "I'll take it!"

"Excellent," he said, cheering up since he managed to get a sale out of us. He reverted the fire engine to a leaf, took a lock off it, then handed it to Bluebear. "I hope a lot of enjoyment comes out of this."

"I'm sure it'll go over wonderfully," she said, making sure the payment went before taking the leaf. "Nadia, should we head off for lunch?"

"That sounds like a good idea," I said.

"Well I'm glad you stopped in to see me," Redd said, going to get the door for us. "Have a lovely day, and remember, if you change your mind about the hutch, you can only come back in today for it. Of course, if you want access to the store more often, and notification of when I'll be around, you could always sign up for my exclusive membership club. Would you like to know about it?"

"Not right now..." I said, stepping onto the brick street... which caused me to pause. Chime City had cobblestone streets, not brick. I took hold of the door, to keep Redd from shutting it, and peered around to look at the plaza. There was a fountain with a sculpture of a crescent moon and stars. Turning back around, I said, "This isn't Chime City."

"What?" Redd asked, looking at us in disbelief.

"You're right," Bluebear said, noticing the streets. "Where are we?"

"That is... Meridian City." Redd frowned. "You two got in here from Chime City?"

I nodded. "Right, that's the district my town is in."

"Maybe Loki had something to do with that?" Bluebear asked. "Because we saw him right before we came here."

Redd's ears lowered. "I wasn't supposed to have the door there open today," he muttered. "Lesliel's not going to like this..." Then he tensed, as if he didn't mean to speak that aloud. "Um, well... heheh... come back in, if you will. I'll get you back to Chime City."

As I came back into the store, Bluebear asked, "How? We're inside a building; we need to get on a train."

"You're in a special building, beyond simply being my store," Redd said, making sure the door was shut securely. "Now you get to see something that very few animals have seen. Please keep quiet about it; it's a bit of a trade secret but I don't want you get in trouble for a technical error."

Then he went to the stack of boxes and pulled on the edge of one of them. This led the sides of three of them to open up, revealing electronic equipment inside. Deftly moving switches with familiarity, Redd gave instructions to the machine, double-checked it, then set it to run. Something in another box crackled and whirred, while another one briefly let blue light come through its cracks. Other than that, not much seemed to change.

When the noises stopped, Redd nodded and went to the door. He opened it and found the cobblestone streets of Chime City. "Good, good, right where you need to be. Listen, I apologize for the mix-up; I'll be reviewing the equipment carefully too see what happened today."

"What was that?" Bluebear asked, puzzled. "How can the same door open to different places?"

He smiled toothily at that. "It used to run on magic, but I switched to a computerized system since it was more efficient. My store is always here, but it's not always entirely here. I'll have to shift things so that the entrance here isn't open for the rest of today. Is there anything I can do to apologize for this issue?"

Even with how shady he was, I didn't think the door mix-up was his doing. But since I didn't know when I'd get a chance to go to this store again, or when I'd see the item again, I went ahead and bought the Classic Hutch. He even took two thousand off his initial price. It was still rather high, but if he was right about it possibly getting marked an antique, it could drastically increase in asking price in the future.

"Well that was an unexpected little adventure," Bluebear said, cheerful about it. "Oh, but could you hold onto the toy truck for me? I want to hide it away somewhere back home for a special day."

I nodded. "Sure thing. It's for Lucky, right?"

She laughed. "Yes, he just loves firefighters and everything about them." We walked on back to the plaza, looking for somewhere to eat and continuing our talk, about our kids and many other things. Loki had tried to disrupt the day, but in the end, I remember it as a reminder that even if your friends move away, it's easy to find another friend if you go out and look.

* * *

_The Classic Hutch was a lottery item in the Gamecube game, which made it very hard to get outside of passwords. Back then, you got tickets for items you bought in Nook's store and once a month, you could turn in five tickets for one try in his lottery. There would be three items, but there was a fair amount of lottery-only items so the item you want might only show up once a year or so. I think the Hutch looks nice, but it really doesn't have a function other than completing the set.  
_

_So what's Loki up to? Well the Flower Festival chapters are coming up soon, so it won't be long now._


	30. Cake Walk

**Chapter 30: Cake Walk**

Thursday, May 23

It was the Flower Festival week and so far, things were going well. It was an in-town celebration until Saturday, so we had time to enjoy each other's gardens before the really busy days. For my home, I had some flowers in the windowboxes and others around the entrance. The vegetables I had to the east side of my house were doing nicely too. Besides Rodeo (who had unanimously been elected a judge for the event as he'd automatically win), some of my neighbors had gotten quite large and colorful gardens going already. I didn't think I had much of chance for winning the Flower Trophy. Then again, I had my mind on other things.

When I had been in Chime City the other day, one of the things I learned was that Alice had an interest in cooking and baking but Bluebear didn't have much experience with it beyond simple things. So I invited Alice over for a couple of days of baking cakes and cookies for the weekend events. Bluebear even sent her over with the family's oven in leaf form so we had two to work with. Not only that, but since Dora lived nearby, she offered to help as well, cooking a few things in her kitchen Mina somehow got word of the baking going on and showed up too. So it was all four of us in my kitchen, mixing, measuring, chatting, and having a blast.

We started with cookies that would keep well for a while, then moved onto a carrot cake. I instructed Alice on how to use the kitchen scales. "You need to have the bowl on the scale, then adjust it so that it shows zero weight."

"But the bowl weighs something too," Alice said.

"That's why you have to have it on when you adjust the scale," I pointed out. "If you don't, the measurements will be short."

"Oh, right." She fixed the dial so that it read right, then measured out the flour by the recipe card.

"It's important to have the right weights and ratios when you're baking," Dora said. "Because slight changes can have a big effect on the end result."

"Yeah, I used to not measure well at all, and then all my breads were so inconsistent," Mina said, over at the dining table mixing up some banana bread from her particular recipe. "Then even when I got more patient with it, I still had to figure out yeasts and rising for those kinds of breads. It was a lot of trial and error, but the good ones are worth it."

I nodded. "Yeast is tricky, because it can even be affected by the weather. The ratio differences can also be seen in cookies. You know those chocolate chip ones we made? I've got another cookie I want to make that has basically the same ingredients, but in different measurements so the cookies will come out differently."

Alice seemed surprised at that. "Really? It would be like, if you had more flour, the cookie will be more dry, and if you had more butter, the cookie will be more buttery?"

"It could be moister and softer too, for the butter cookie," I said. "Or it might not. You'll see."

"So are you going to be running a bake sale at the festival weekend?" Mina asked me.

I nodded. "On Sunday, but the cakes and some of the cookies are going to be in a cake walk game."

"What kind of game is that?" Alice asked me. "I hope you're not going to walk on the cakes; that'd be sticky and a waste of good cake."

"No, it's..." I started to say.

But Mina interrupted me. "We're going to give the cakes feet and make them dance!"

"Oh my gosh, really?" Alice asked, wide-eyed.

I laughed. "No, although that'd be pretty funny. You know the game Musical Chairs? It's like that. We put some numbers on the ground in a circle and have participants buy a ticket to join in. They walk around on the numbers to some music, and when the music stops, they win a prize based on what number they're on. For the big prizes, we'll have special cakes, but there'll also be small cakes and cookies so everyone wins something."

"But won't we need a lot of cakes for that kind of game?" Dora asked.

"I've got my Curious Bakers Club helping out, so they'll be sending me plenty of cakes and cookies for several rounds of the game." I had to explain the game to the club organizer, but he seemed excited about the idea. It seemed as though the phrase 'cake walk' had made it into Animal Crossing, but the game itself was relatively unheard of.

"Sounds like fun," Alice said, now carefully putting sugar into the measuring bowl.

Here, I had to start teaching again. "I'm sure it will be. Okay, when you get the sugar measured, put it over on this side where I'm getting the wet ingredients measured."

"But sugar isn't wet," she said.

"True, but for some reason it gets counted as a wet ingredient in baking," Dora said.

"I never could figure that one out," Mina said.

I found a clean dry spoon and took out a little sugar to demonstrate with. "It's because of the chemistry and how sugar interacts with other ingredients, but to make it simple, see how the sugar flows kind of like a liquid? It doesn't mix the same way as flour does. So when you've got a muffin type of recipe where you're mixing the wet and dry ingredients apart first, the sugar goes with the wet."

"But we're making a cake, not a muffin," Alice said.

"Carrot cake is a muffin too," I said. "It's about how the recipe gets put together."

The koala looked thoughtful. "Oh, so... could you have carrot cake for breakfast because it's a muffin?"

"It wouldn't be the healthiest option, but sure," I said, smiling.

"Man, if I could have cake for breakfast, I'd take it," Mina said, pouring her batter into a bread pan. "But then I know a lot of my friends who are into healthy lifestyles like Goose and Keaton would give me such a hard time for it. Hey, have you got one of the ovens at 350?"

"Mine is," Dora said, going over to check on it. "It should be ready."

"I'll be over there in a minute, then," she said. "So what kind of special cakes are you making? I don't make cakes that often, but I do sweet breads that'll knock your socks off. Some of them might be last minute contributions, though."

"Could you make one on Saturday if I end up a little short?" I asked.

Mina nodded. "Sure enough, just let me know early in the morning. I'll definitely throw some more together for the bake sale Sunday."

"That's great." I thought back to her question. "We're going to be making mostly the cupcakes and such today, like this one is going to be split into four small cakes. But I've prepared for making a Black Forest cake, a white cake with fancy buttercream frosting, and a coconut cake tomorrow. They'll take more time, especially the coconut cake as I won't be taking many shortcuts with it."

"How can a coconut cake take a lot of time?" Mina asked. "I've never made one myself, but it seems simple."

"When you start with the fresh coconuts, it does take extra time and work," I said. "But it's worth it."

"Oh, if you know how to work with buttercream frosting, could you help me with one of my cakes?" Dora asked.

I nodded. "Sure."

She seemed relieved. "Good. See, I have this red velvet cake recipe that I'd like to make more often on special occasions, but I have trouble getting the frosting to look nice unless I just make it really simple. I was also going to make a lucky mint cake, but I can make the frosting clovers nicely enough.

Later in the day, I let Alice put together and decorate a confetti cake by herself, something that she really enjoyed. It seemed like a lot, but I was hoping the cake walk would be popular. If there were too many, they could always go in the bake sale later.

* * *

Friday, May 24

Shortly after five in the afternoon, my gyroid called for my attention. "Pete's here with a special delivery."

"Okay," I said, setting down the decorating bag I had. The coconut cake was sitting in the fridge, all completed. The Black Forest cake I was holding off on finishing until tomorrow so that it could be presented at its nicest. That left me with the white cake and Dora's red velvet cake to make up prettily. As Mina had taken her baking to her home, Dora was the only one with me then as she worked on her lucky mint cake.

At the door, the mail pelican had a number of cake boxes stacked up in a small wagon. "Hey, I've got more deliciousness to deliver today."

I smiled and opened the door further. "Great, looks like the club came through. Thanks for bringing them up here."

"It's my duty to make deliveries safely," Pete said, pulling the wagon inside. "And trust me, we didn't even peek in any of the boxes... although there's one that smells absolutely delicious. Could you send me a note of when that one will come up in your game?"

"Sure, I can do that," I said. I was numbering all the boxes once I knew what they held, so that I could keep track of who made what dessert.

After we sorted out which one he was interested in, Pete said, "Oh, and the mayor says not to let you forget that the festival trophy announcement will be at six."

"Right," I said. "We might be a little sugary, but we'll be there."

"Sugary is right, although we haven't eaten much of it yet," Dora said. Both of us had bits of frosting on our fingers and on the counters, as could be expected.

"Better sweet than sour, I guess, unless you like things sour." Pete then said goodbye and headed back to town hall.

At six o'clock, Dora and I cleaned up some and ran over there to see the announcement for the festival winners. Tortimer was there, but Rodeo was the one who had the trophy. "Gosh, there's so many beautiful flowers in town now," he said. "It's amazing, with so much color everywhere. It was really hard to decide; I like them all."

"Oh yes, everyone worked hard to make Verdant beautiful," Tortimer said. "I'd love to give everyone a prize, but there can only be one winner."

The bull nodded. "Yeah, everyone can be happy about it. Then, um, our winner for the best garden is Eloise. Great work, chaps!" He walked over to pass her the trophy.

"Well this is a pleasant surprise," she said, accepting it. "I had more herbs in my garden than flowers."

"But, they had flowers too and they looks so nice with everything," Rodeo said. "I especially liked the tall purple ones and the fluffy green ones."

She thought about it. "I think you mean the lavender and the dill. They do make lovely bouquets."

"Congratulations, Eloise," I said, happy for her. She did spend a lot of time on her garden; it was when she was gardening that I saw her most often outside.

"Thanks," she said. "I'll have to put up a little fence for my garden for the next couple of days, though. Don't want anything happening to it."

Tortimer tapped his cane on the plaza stones. "Speaking of things happening, I don't like to be talking of this, but I need to warn everyone to be careful over the next few days. Loki's shown an interest in this event and since nothing much has occurred so far, we must assume that he means to do something over the weekend. We'll be having some extra help for Copper and Booker around, but even so, keep alert to what's going on and be ready to act quickly should something happen."

"I'll be in the trees, helping out too," Snake said. A few there seemed nervous about it, but most of us wanted to do what we can to keep Loki from doing too much damage.

* * *

Saturday, May 25

At ten o'clock, Verdant opened our town to festival visitors. Animals had been coming in since seven, though, to help with security or set up small booths to make it feel like a bigger festival. There was even a crew that set up a small stage near the beach; there would be a few musicians coming in later to put a show, but they added a karaoke machine for anyone who wanted to take the stage at any time in the day. I put out some special maps at the town message boards, making particular paths that visitors could take to see the flower gardens, find the event activities, and even visit Yggdrasil's hill.

And many animals came, even in the first few hours of that morning. They were dressed up festively in flower-themed clothing, from full floral print outfits to simple floral bracelets. At the train station, I happened to see a pair of old friends greeting each other warmly. It seemed they had decided to meet up at this event after not seeing each other for a full year. I liked that they could make our event a special occasion personally as well.

As for myself, I spent much of the afternoon at my home, running the cake walk game. It needed space, so I stored much of my furniture as leaves in the second floor closets, leaving the buffet table to display the cakes on. I also kept out the side table to put my phonograph on, as well as various chairs and couches along the walls in case someone wanted to sit. To go along with the event, I changed the wallpaper to a colorful polka dot print and the flooring to a tartan rug. They didn't go along officially, but they made it feel like more of a game. Bouquets of flowers were scattered through the room, to go along with the festival theme.

I left the door open, leaving the game schedule and information with my gyroid so it could answer questions that visitors had. It was between games, so three animals were sitting around waiting, talking and laughing with each other as they nibbled at their cookies. I was setting up the prizes for the next game. The top three prizes were my coconut cake, a lavishly decorated ice cream cake, and Alice's confetti cake, while the other nine places would get a rocky road cupcake.

"Nadia!" a familiar voice called from the doorway.

I had to stop setting up the cupcakes to go over and hug her. "Monique, good to see you again! I wasn't expecting you today."

She smelled like a nice rose perfume and was wearing a pretty pink dress with a red petal design. "It's so good to be back, even for a visit," she said, brushing her whiskers on my cheek. "Our plans got changed a little. See, this is Dawn, the anchor of our town. Dawn, this is my oldest friend Nadia."

"Good to meet you," I said, shaking the sheep's hoof. "I hope she and Bob aren't too much trouble for you."

"Oh, they're sweethearts to everyone, especially each other," Dawn said, smiling. She had pale brown fur, like coffee mixed with cream. She wore a sunflower-themed silk scarf and round glasses. "I'm glad they invited me along, even if it doesn't get them much time together."

"Hey, you haven't gotten out of town since they increased security with you guys," Bob said. "It's about time you had a fun day too."

I gave him a hug too. "Good to see you as well. But it's no surprise that she'd be busy; our schedules just seem to fill up without us even trying."

Dawn nodded. "Yes, exactly. So what do you have going on in here? Something with cakes I heard."

I nodded and explained to them about the cake walk. "The tickets cost ten bells to join one round, and the next round will be starting once a few more come in."

"Ten bells seems a bit much for a cupcake," Monique said. "But it's for your library, right? That'd be worthwhile."

"Ten bells would be a steal for that coconut cake, I think," Dawn said. "It smells delicious. Where did it come from?"

"I made it, just yesterday." She seemed impressed with that and as I thought, the three of them each bought a ticket to the next round.

I was hoping that one of Alice's family might show up to win her cake, but of our town, only Mabel came in that particular round. I set up the phonograph with an album of party songs on it, setting it to play once everyone had picked a number to start on. During the game, Bob and a few others tried to make a full dance out of it, causing some amusement in bumping into others and nearly slipping on the pieces of paper. But once I stopped the music, they all scrambled to make sure they were standing on a number.

Giving the bag of tokens one last shake, I pulled three numbers out. "Ready to know who gets the special sweets? For the confetti cake, the winner is," I dropped one of the tokens on the table, only reading the number when it was there. "Number 8!"

"Wow, I've got eight!" Mabel said, coming out of the circle and over to me. "Haha, and I thought I'd just come in for a small snack, not a full cake!"

I turned the cake back into a cake box to hand over to her. "Luck of the dance, huh? Actually, that was made by Alice here in Verdant. It's the first cake she made on her own."

"Really? Maybe I'll send them half of it. It's a bit much for just my sister and me. Thanks!" She took the cake box and went off to the side.

"You're welcome. Next, the winner of the ice cream cake... number 5!"

It was someone I didn't recognize, a yellow bird. "Huh, cake and ice cream in one dessert? I, I had no idea you could do that!"

I turned it back into its box, making sure to put a special ice lock on it. "It's a great match," I said. "And it was donated by the Seabreeze Sweets Shoppe in Seabreeze City. Here, the lock is there to keep it cold. It'll release when you get it home and put it in a freezer."

"Just like ice cream. Awesome!" He accepted the cake and seemed to be considering heading back home already.

"Right, but we have one more prize to go," I said, flipping the last token onto the table. "And the winner of the coconut cake is, number 11!"

"Amazing, just what I was hoping for," Dawn said, coming up to claim it. "This seems to be my lucky day."

"That's great," I said, smiling as I handed off the coconut cake in its box to her. "As I said, this one's my recipe and I hope you enjoy it. All of the rest of you players win one of these tasty rocky road cupcakes. Just remember to thank the angels that everyone can eat chocolate here."

* * *

By seven in the evening, I had given away most of the cakes and treats that had been made for the cake walk game. I shut up my house and headed down to the beach stage in order to watch the concert event going on. Although it was getting dark, there was still a good crowd having fun all around Verdant. Tomorrow, I should be able to see more of those events myself.

For now, I strolled along the way and looked over the gardens we had. They all were in good shape, no extra trash around or obvious problems. I did notice that the grass seemed worn down in spots. It was probably just from the unusual level of foot traffic today. In a couple of weeks, we might not even notice it.

Most of the people I found at the beach, as they had been gathering for the concert as well. The first act was Patty, Deena, and Robin in their debut showing as the Solbright Girls. They had a funny and cute stage act as three friends who were very different from each other, but still kept a close bond. While some of it was clearly exaggerated and staged, such as Patty and Deena annoying Robin with a catchy cheerful tune until she started singing along, it seemed to be a good fit for them.

The other two bands I didn't know as well, although I recognized the name of one from the radio. It was still a fun concert, especially when Patty and Deena came over to sit with me after their act. "It's so great that we got to come back here for a show!" Patty said.

"Yeah, I'm glad people liked it," Deena said.

"You're doing a good job," I said. Yet even as I talked with them, I began to feel uneasy. Something wasn't quite right, but I didn't know what. Nothing out of the ordinary seemed to be going on, even with as much as was happening. When I got done talking with them, I took another walk around town.

What was Loki doing?

* * *

_Most of the baking chatter is correct, although I'm not entirely sure on the part about why sugar counts as a wet ingredient. I just know that something about its chemistry makes it that way.  
_

_Nothing nefarious at the festival yet... unless you count grass erosion. Very unpopular mechanic, I know._


	31. Flower Swarm

**Chapter 31: Flower Swarm**

Sunday, May 26

When I woke up that morning, the first thing I really noticed was the flower petals on the window of my attic bedroom. It seemed harmless, if unusual. When I stepped out of my house later, it was like I had stepped back in time a few weeks. The air was scented like fruit blossoms and small petals were drifting down lightly, just like the end of the Cherry Blossom Week. Looking at the nearest apple tree, I saw that it was lush and green with nice red fruits. No flowers. The flowers near my house still had their petals, so where were these ones in the air coming from?

I took a walk around town, seeing people preparing for another day of the open festival. There were a few weeds around town, but just the usual amount that I plucked. The flower gardens were undisturbed. While no one could explain the petal shower, no one saw it as much trouble either. I wondered if it was Yggdrasil, but then recalled that it had done this with the fruit trees so it shouldn't have any flowers to shower on us again.

"We haven't picked up any unusual signs yesterday or today," Copper told me when I stopped by the police station. "Other than these petals, which we're still evaluating."

"I see," I said, rubbing my hand through my hair. "I feel like something's not right, though I can't say what it is."

"Then that is a worrying sign, but it's hard to say what it means," Copper said. "As appropriate as it is, we'll need to find a way to stop this flower shower. Leave it to us, and let us know if you notice anything change."

Around noon, it was getting a little crowded in Verdant, especially in the area around town hall and Nookway. The petals covered the ground, rising up in swirling plumes with every step. It was strangely beautiful, especially where a spontaneous dance area had sprouted up. Off to one side, K.K. Slider had shown up to play on his guitar, while some couples danced in the falling petals. A few booths were there, with flower-themed items to sell, garden information to teach, or flower-related clubs to join.. There was also someone who'd brought in a fake well, decorated with rose vines.

It seemed like Bluebear and Rowan had started this dance session up when they found K.K. there. At least, I guessed based on how they were encouraging other couples to join in. "Come on, why not have a romantic dance with your sweetheart in this magnificent flower shower?" Bluebear said cheerily to some who were watching. "How often do you get a chance for such a perfect moment together in such beautiful weather?"

"You're more beautiful than the weather's ever been, the wonder of my life," Rowan said to her.

Bluebear laughed, grabbing his paw to start dancing again. "You're more wonderful, my flower, better than the flowers."

"Better than peaches?"

"Or better than mangoes?" she said teasingly.

"Careful saying that," Rowan joked, twirling around with her and kicking up lots of the petals around them.

"Ugh, they're so embarrassing sometimes," Alice said, close by me. The young koala was crouching on the ground, picking up the petals and letting them fall through her fingers.

"It probably means a lot to them," I said to her. "Maybe you'll know how it is someday."

"Maybe," she said, thoughtful. "But I'd be embarrassed to talk like that out in public."

I shook my head. "You don't really notice that, when you're in love. Only your sweetheart matters; it can be like the rest of the world isn't there."

"Sometimes I can see that in mom and dad," Alice said, standing up and dusting her paws off. "Were you ever like that before?"

A petal fell onto my nose, so I brushed it off. Somewhere in with the noise, I could hear some bees buzzing. "I'm sure of it. I don't remember a lot of my previous life, but I can remember how I felt about my husband, Mitchell. He has a lot to handle now, because we had two kids as well."

"Oh, that has to be hard," Alice said. "I have a hard enough time watching over Lucky on my own sometimes, when mom and dad are out for a couple of hours. It'd be nice if you could remember."

"Would you want some help in remembering?" someone behind us said.

Turning around, I noticed that we were in front of the guy with the fake well. It certainly looked real enough, with a stone wall, a wooden room, a bucket on a rope with a crank to raise and lower it, and the roses (which were definitely real). But we'd never had a well in Verdant, so it had to be just for show. The guy there was a dark green bulldog with white markings, wearing a yellow tank top and brown shorts.

"It's all right," I said. "I have enough to do in this life without recalling my last."

"But it'd be nice, huh?" the bulldog asked, smiling. "Maybe my wishing well could help."

"Do you draw up wishes in the well's bucket?" Alice asked, curious. "So she could wish for some memories back?"

He patted the low roof of the well, causing a slide of petals off it. "Sort of. In the mortal realm, wells draw up water from underground, but it doesn't work that way here. My well's bucket won't draw up anything. But, it does connect to a different kind of well: the well of memories and imagination that makes up the foundations of every town in this realm. Send a wish coin down there with a wish and anything might happen."

"I heard something like that from Rover," I said. "Except about the wish part. Towns formed when spirits came together, building off what was in their minds."

"Then everybody's memories are below us?" Alice asked.

"That's right," the bulldog said. "Normally you can't go deep enough under a town to reach it. But that's why my wishing well is special; it's extra deep."

She looked at the well, then asked, "So what are the wishing coins? Are you selling them?"

He nodded. "Yup, for one bell a piece. It's a bargain, considering what might happen."

Nothing might happen, but it was only one bell. Alice bought two of them and gave me one. "Here, you can have this wish because I had a lot of fun at your house this week. One coin's enough for my important wish." Putting the coin her her paws, she brought it to her mouth and whispered something to it. Then she tossed it into the well.

"Someday, your wish may come true," the bulldog said, nodding. "I hope it's soon."

"Thanks, Alice," I said, looking over my coin. It seemed to be made of gold, with an etching of a four-leaf clover on each side. But I wasn't thinking of trying to get my memories back with this. Something else seemed more important. Bringing the coin close, I whispered to it, "I wish that my son Allen stays well and overcomes his grief." Hopefully my prayers, words, and even this wish would reach him. Then I tossed the gold coin into the well too.

From there, I continued to walk around town and talk with many of the animals there. I checked in on the bake sale, finding Mina running it with two animals from out of town. "Oh hey, I hope you don't mind, but I roped some of my buddies into helping out," the rabbit said. "The one on my left is Keaton, and the one on my right is Octavian. Guys, this is the anchor of this lovely town, Nadia."

"Good to meet some friends of a neighbor," I said, shaking the wing of Keaton. He was a sky blue eagle, apparently a bold fellow as he was wearing a bright pink windbreaker.

"Good to meet you, dear lady," Keaton said, nodding. "Actually, it's kinda funny, but this is the first time the three of us have met face to face. We've been pen pals through four different clubs that we all belonged to at one point or another."

Mina nodded. "Yeah, yeah, and it was really weird because it was unintentional. We started exchanging letters through the film club, and then discovered that we all belonged to the exact same clubs. It's like we're all siblings except, you know, it's kinda impossible because we stayed the same animals when we crossed over."

"I still think it's weird that Min is a girl," Octavian said. He was unlike any other animal I'd seen here because he was an octopus, with red skin. Because he had two arms on the table and two arms crossed over his chest, he must have used four of his eight tentacles for legs. He did wear a purple t-shirt with a yellow star on it, as well as a droopy hat that seemed to dribble water from an unseen source.

"What, you couldn't tell from my cute signature?" she asked, twitching her ears.

He put one tentacle over his eyes. "Well, I thought you were just a strange cute-loving guy. Named Min..." he curled another tentacle in thought, "Minato or something."

"It's just Mina," she said.

"If they want to help out, I see no reason to refuse," I said. Then I yawned. "Aaaa, sorry." I rubbed my eyes, feeling tired

"It's still morning," Mina said. "How're you tired? You're up early most days I see you."

I flicked some petals off my dress. The floral scents were nice, although they didn't make me feel any more alert. "I've been busy the past few days, that's probably why. I think I'll go get some coffee." After a little more talk, I bought a coffeecake cupcake from them to go with the coffee.

On the way up the ramp, I noticed again that there seemed to be an awful lot of animals here today. And at points, I was losing sight of my feet to the fallen flowers. The petals seemed to make the air blurry. Or was it something with me? Or the town, because I was connected to the town. My feelings could make the town suffer, so a problem with the town could make me suffer. It was... it was the crowd, I realized. Somehow, there were too many visitors. I was certain that the security forces would have put a limit on how many could come, unless Loki had broken that barrier somehow.

I felt like I should go talk to Copper again, or Einziel if I could find him. But as I looked through the swirling petals and trees, I wasn't sure where I was. The petal shower was getting stronger and I could hear the buzzing of bees.

A paw touched my shoulder; Snake had landed by me from somewhere in the trees. "Nadia, what's going on?" he asked me in concern.

"There's too many visitors in town," I said. The train whistled nearby, then pulled out of the station. I had come close to being on the tracks if Snake hadn't stopped me. "It's putting stress on Verdant and the normal rules are breaking down. It's wearing me out too."

"I noticed that," he said. "I've been trailing you, but I didn't realize how badly you were feeling until just now." Keeping a hold of me, he tugged me in another direction. "Come on, the police station isn't too far."

"Okay," I said, letting him lead me. Once the round building came into view, I asked, "Could you find Einziel if he isn't there?"

"Will he be in town?" Snake asked, looking at me.

I nodded. "He's... he was moving around, but he looks like a normal calico cat person working at an ice cream cart. He has a halo marking around his ear, though."

"Oh, him? I saw him; I'll find him in a jiffy." We entered the station, finding a gorilla officer and Booker there. "Hey, Nadia's not doing well," he told them, guiding me in. "She says there's too many people in town."

"Um, we've been monitoring how many people come and go," Booker said, checking a notepad. "Like... there's 43 here now."

"I had a count of 47," the gorilla said.

"It sure looks like there's more folks than that around town," Snake said. "Anyhow, I'm off to find Einziel." He then hurried back out into the falling petals.

"Oh dear," Booker said, rubbing his neck. "We should, well, call the train directors."

"I'm on it," the gorilla said, taking a phone and dialing as he spoke.

"You come sit down here, Nadia," Booker said, gesturing toward a bench against the wall. "I'll make sure you're safe."

I had barely sat down when Snake and Einziel arrived, the latter letting his wings show again. "Now what's going on?" the angel asked. Once he spotted me, he came over to the bench and put a paw on my forehead.

"She feels like there's too many people in Verdant right now," Snake said again. "Also, the bees are really agitated. I noticed a couple of folks that had gotten stung just in going after you."

"Bees aren't supposed to sting without being provoked," Einziel said, still examining me. "Right... if this goes on much longer, he might be able to bend rules even further... you have them at the train watch? Tell them not to bring any more visitors to Verdant."

"Will do," the gorilla said, then went back to his phone conversation. After a couple of minutes, he moved the receiver away from his face. "They've got inaccuracies too in how many they think are here. And," something over the phone startled him, "What? Really?" Then he looked back to us. "There's been a train accident in the mists, on the westbound tracks from Verdant."

Einziel got up and went to the phone. "I'll handle this," he ordered, taking the phone. "Keep an eye on this station; make sure she stays awake for now." He then gave more orders to the train handlers before swapping over to a new call.

"Should I grab you some coffee, Nadia?" Snake asked. "Since you were after that."

I nodded. "Yes, thanks. Brewster should know what I like."

Snake nodded, then left the police station. The gorilla officer took his place at the door, while Booker came over to sit next to me. "Well, um, this has been a hectic weekend," he said. "Even with the help."

At that point, I was feeling really tired. But it seemed to be important that I stayed awake. "Yesterday was nice and peaceful; we're actively under attack today, it seems."

"Um, usually the attacks don't get within the town," Booker said, rubbing his head. "Although, sometimes things used to happen at the tree late at night. Not so much now that it has a guardian."

"What kind of guardian is there?" I hadn't noticed anyone or anything different at the tree, but it had apparently been there for a while.

"I can't really say," he replied. "As long as you don't see it, it's doing its job. It's certainly a strange creature, kind of scary although it helps out well. Don't worry about it. So, um," he kicked his feet sheepishly. "I should keep talking to you, but um, I don't talk much, so..."

"What kind of hobbies do you have?" I asked.

"Hobbies? Um... I like finding things. Like seashells, and lost items. Doesn't matter if I can keep it, I just like finding them. What do you like doing?"

We talked a little, a bit of an awkward conversation since he wasn't confident in conversing and I was tired. But then Snake showed up (on the bench with us, in his usual manner) with a coffee for me, Booker, and himself. Einziel was on the phone for a few more minutes, then hung up and turned to us. The first thing he did was give Snake a sharp look. "You warped into here."

"Erm, yeah," he admitted, seeming embarrassed. "I only do it when nobody sees me, since I can only warp when unseen."

Einziel gave a curt nod. "It's better that it stays that way. With this flower swarm going on, you have plenty of chances. Here." He came over and pulled a photo out of thin air, handing it to Snake. "This animal is allergic to bee stings and she's currently in Verdant. There will be a train arriving shortly to pull out what people it can. Make sure she leaves on the train, as well as those who've already been stung by the bees."

"Gotcha," Snake said, taking the photo and zipping outside, to the surprise of the gorilla at the door.

Once he was gone, the cat angel scratched at an ear, looking worried. "All right then. Rover's on his way to handle the derailment in the mists, but we'll still have some trains coming in and backing out until the way is clear. I called Copper here; tell him to let the other police know to encourage visitors gently to leave and reduce stress on the town. Let Snake keep helping if he wants, even if he is civilian. In the meantime, I have to go distract Loki."

"Isn't he trying to fight you, with bending the rules?" I asked.

Einziel nodded. "Yes, I'm pretty sure that's on his mind. But if I don't go, he might try attacking others to provoke me. I'll be able to handle him until Verdant stabilizes and makes sure that the rules are enforced."

"Ein, be careful out there," Booker said, without his usual stammering.

"I will." He then left the station.

"Oh, I hope he is," Booker said, worried. "Ein was the first person to take me seriously for long, and be patient with my, um, shyness. He's the best, but then if he gets defeated, well..."

Before long, Dora joined us in the police station. Snake had sent her our way to help Booker keep me alert. Once the first train had left with full cars, I started to feel better. That made me think that I might be able to correct the problems going on. Loki's antics were going against the rules and schedule of Animal Crossing, but apparently Verdant could correct some of that naturally if there wasn't so much going on. To help, I tried to think of keeping the rules intact: no violent actions, weapons can't do damage, bees only sting when provoked, the flower petals only fall during one week in spring.

"They're like, um, rules of how things work, physics I think," Booker said when I ended up talking about the rules of the realm. "Some are weak, like the warping which can only be done with special methods. They, um, aren't normally taught to civilians, so I don't know how Snake does it, especially into a building like this."

"The police station isn't usually locked," Dora said. "He can't enter locked buildings that way, can he?"

Booker shook his head. "That's against the rules, can't enter a locked building unless you own a key. Well, you could get past a lock, but that's in case of emergencies and will get someone in trouble otherwise. Some rules can't be broken absolutely, because they govern how things work. Others can be broken, but are that way because they're needed to teach us and remind us to be good people. The ones that can't be broke are that way to keep us safe."

Another train whistled as it started to leave, backing up to avoid the accident scene. Once it was gone, I felt like I was seeing double for a moment, feeling a strong sense of concern, weariness, and confusion at once. I drank the last of my coffee, then set the cup down and rubbed my forehead. Things soon clicked back into place and I knew what was going on. "There's still a few too many people here, but the rules have been recovered to full strength," I said. "We need to send someone to the ocean, not far from the beach. Einziel's in trouble."

"I'll send an alert to one of my buddies down there," the gorilla said, pulling out a device to send the message.

"How do you know that?" Dora asked.

"I don't normally notice my connection to the town itself, but this is different," I said, rubbing my arms. "Verdant feels the pain of an angel and it's become agitated because of it. I can't really tell what's happening down there, but I know Einziel and Loki were fighting over the ocean."

Twenty minutes later, Dora and I left the police station as Rover's train pulled into the train station. The flower petals were still falling, but not as thick as they'd been earlier. The petals were joined by a light rain shower, even though the sun still shone through the light cloud cover. Earlier, the animals had taken the flower swarm in a lighthearted stride, taking advantage of the unique weather. Now the few who were here were much more worried, even scared. They'd brought Einziel up here on a stretcher as he'd been too injured to move on his own.

He was still conscious, alert enough to recognize Jainiel when the hawk angel came off the train and to his side. "I'm going to be fine," Einziel said, mustering the will to keep a calm voice. "He wasn't expecting me to take the offensive, so I wrecked him up good too. But I can't tell where he went once the rules were back in strength."

Jainiel then put his wing over his peer's face. "Then keep quiet and rest now. We'll handle things here."

"But the trains," Einziel said.

"Don't worry about it, boss," Rover said. "I took care of things; nobody's hurt too bad and they'll get to the next town shortly. Right now, I've got to get you to Chime City in one piece, so don't be causing me trouble."

Einziel laughed briefly, but then cringed in pain. Jainiel waved his wing over him, causing the cat angel to fall asleep. With that, Rover and one of the monkey engineers took the stretcher onto the train. They didn't even wait for anyone else, just closed up their doors quickly and hurried off to the city. Jainiel stayed behind.

"We'll need to continue getting people out of town before we can clear up the weather," the hawk angel told me. "I'll see to correcting what damage I can. Nadia, you should go home. You won't be able to rest with the town in its current state, but do whatever keeps you calm and relaxed. That will help reduce the lingering effects of this attack."

I nodded. "I'll do that, then. Dora, do you mind sticking with me a little longer?"

The mouse smiled up at me. "I'll be happy to. Come on, we can talk about baking or reading or walking, whatever you want."

* * *

Monday, May 27

I had a breakfast of waffles and jam while I watched the news on TV. I felt like things were right again, but also felt nervous still. Given what happened, I wasn't the only one who was shocked. It was the major story on the news, the first report they had. "Yesterday, a series of strange events had tragic consequences in the town of Verdant, where they were holding an open flower festival weekend. Loki had compromised the town's security by confusing reports within the train service and the police force about how many visitors were in town. More people were allowed in than was planned for, leading to the town's structure to become greatly weakened.

"Thanks to the actions of the town's anchor Nadia as well as several other alert citizens, Verdant's structure did not suffer a breakdown or an invasion of mist. However, it was stressed enough that the authority of the realm's rules was broken for about twenty minutes, during which Loki could have attacked citizens directly. Instead, Einziel drew Loki away from the crowds. Their battle left both badly injured.

"The Chime City hospital reports that Einziel's wounds have started healing, but that he will be weakened while he recovers. The angel is being kept in the hospital's care, with limited visitors. According to the most recent reports, the structural integrity of Verdant and neighboring towns has been restored to full. However, it is unknown where Loki is at this time. People are still advised to steer clear of him; he will be just as dangerous while injured."

Maybe even more so, since if anyone disturbed him at this time, Loki would likely seek them out for revenge when he was well. After I finished eating, I put the dishes in the dishwasher and left the house to walk around town. There were still a great many flower petals on the ground, but the weather was normal and sunny again. But while I was pushing the flower petals around with my feet, I noticed a distinct lack of green on the ground. Many of the gardens I saw on my walk had only taken a little damage from the traffic, but the grass seemed to have suffered greatly. There was very little of it left.

I went into town hall to speak with Tortimer about it. Helen was in talking with him; the lizard smiled and waved to me as I came into the office. "Good morning, sprout!" Tortimer said cheerily. "How're you feeling today?"

"Better than yesterday, although I still feel a little unsettled and jittery," I said, taking the seat offered. "I hope I'm not interrupting you, but I noticed on my morning walk that there isn't a lot of grass around."

Tortimer nodded slowly. "Yes, I saw that too from my windows. Foot traffic does erode the grass, but most of the time it grows back fast enough that you don't notice. I expected to lose some of it, although it seems rather severe from what I saw."

"I could look up the numbers, but from the fatigued feel of the atmosphere, I think the grass took a bigger hit than the overcrowding could do," Helen said.

"Is there grass seed and fertilizer we can buy to restore it?" I asked.

From the look on his face, I could tell that this wasn't going to be easy. "Yes, but it's in such low demand that there isn't much of the commercial seeds produced. The first grasses grown that way tend to be delicate before they establish themselves. We'd have to be careful to stick to established paths for the first couple of months."

"Do we have the funds to do that?" I asked, giving a glance at Helen. "We were focusing on getting the library."

"Yes, we were just discussing that," Tortimer said.

Helen fiddled with some bracelets on her arms. "We did really well in gathering funds this weekend. With the donations and profits, plus a little more, we could build a library and directly upgrade it twice, which is just fantastic, far more than I thought. But then, the town environment is important too. Leaving the grasses in this state will have a negative effect on those who live and visit here. Instead, we could build the library with just one upgrade level... would that be enough to start a seeding program to revitalize the grass?"

"Let me check here," Tortimer said, taking a calculator on the desk and punching in numbers. After comparing it with his notes and a book he had me check, he nodded. "We should be able to just manage that with the current enrichment funds. Okay, leave it to me and I'll get both public works arranged. Nadia, would you write up a couple of messages for the notice boards? One about how the library funding was successful, and another warning of new rules coming about our grass re-seeding project."

"I can handle that."

We talked for a little while longer, than Helen and I left the old tortoise to take care of his job. She tugged at my sleeves before I left the building, though. "Could you come into the library with me for a sec?" she asked.

"Sure," I said, following her into the other room. "Do you need some help?"

She laughed, turning to me with a warm smile on her face. "No, I can handle things. I just wanted to thank you." She bowed her head. "I was happy enough to be allowed to work on my own in a town library, and then you and all the others here put in a wonderful effort to make a separate library so quickly. It's like a dream come true."

"It is great," I agreed. "You're welcome, although I'm really happy to have a bigger library close by too."

"It is your heart that brought this library into being in the first place," Helen said, taking an item off a shelf. "We still have to wait a few days for the new building, but here's a reward from me. It's a Runic Watch; I saw it on sale with one of the vendors over the weekend and I thought it really suited you."

"Thanks," I said, accepting the gift and turning it to swap with the watch I had on. The Runic Watch had a white band with a gold face. Symbols that I didn't know the meaning of were along the band, but I liked it so much immediately that it didn't matter. "That's really lovely, I love it. Wish I knew what it said."

She immediately took a book from the shelf and opened it. "I had to look it up myself, but I think I've figured it out. It doesn't make a sentence like we use, but from the combination of meanings, it seems to say 'To bring inner peace to my followers'. So it's even more appropriate for you than I first thought. Here, see?" She started pointing out the runes as she found them in the book.

After we talked some more, I excused myself to take care of the notices. And writing thank you notes to those who had donated desserts to the event, and maybe even a get well card for Einziel. I hoped that he would recover quickly, and that things in Verdant would quiet back down, at least for a little while.

* * *

_Bluebear and Rowan's exchange is based off their personal phrases. Some of them are hard to work in, like Fang's 'cha-chomp'. Bluebear says 'peach' and Rowan says 'mango'. Alice says 'guv'ner'...  
_

_And yes, Snake can teleport. Sometimes the animals will do that, most noticeable with the special visitors. Like you'll see Joan outside the shop, go in to get some money, and come out to find that she's across the map. One of the handy features of the Gamecube version is that Copper will tell you where a special visitor is. Although you just have to hunt for your neighbors when you need to find them._


End file.
